Method of and system for returning a consumer product in a retail environment so as to prevent or reduce employee theft, as well as provide greater accountability for returned merchandise in retail store environments

ABSTRACT

A method of and system for returning a consumer product in a retail environment and preventing or reducing employee theft of returned merchandise in retail store environments and providing greater accountability for returned merchandise in retail store environments. The method comprises providing an image capturing and processing system at the retail environment, including a system housing having an imaging window and generating and projecting a field of view through the imaging window, and into a 3D imaging volume definable relative to the imaging window. The digital image capturing and processing system produces one or more digital images of consumer goods (i.e. products) passing within the 3D imaging volume. Identification (ID) data for the consumer returning the purchased goods is entered into a host system connected to the digital image capturing and processing system, as well as identification data for the employee to whom the goods are being returned. The digital image capturing engine captures one or more digital images of returned products and these digital images are provided to the host system. The host system generates an electronic document containing identification data for the customer and employee along with the one or more digital images of the returned product or merchandise. The electronic document is then transmitted from the host system to a database server associated with the retail store environment, for storage and subsequent processing. By virtue of the present invention, it is now possible to prevent or reduce employee theft of returned merchandise in retail store environments and provide greater accountability for returned merchandise in such store environments.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/489,259 filedJul. 19, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,540,424; which is aContinuation-in-Part (CIP) of the following Applications: U.S.application Ser. No. 11/408,268 filed Apr. 20, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No.7,464,877; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/305,895 filed Dec. 16, 2005, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,607,581; U.S. application Ser. No. 10/989,220 filed Nov.15, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,490,774; U.S. application Ser. No.10/712,787 filed Nov. 13, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,266; U.S.application Ser. No. 10/186,320 filed Jun. 27, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No.7,164,810; U.S. application Ser. No. 10/186,268 filed Jun. 27, 2002, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,077,319; International Application No. PCT/US2004/038389filed Nov. 15, 2004, and published as WIPO Publication No. WO2005/050390; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/990,585 filed Nov. 21, 2001,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/781,665filed Feb. 12, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,707; U.S. application Ser.No. 09/780,027 filed Feb. 9, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,641 B2; andU.S. application Ser. No. 09/721,885 filed Nov. 24, 2000, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,631,842 B1; wherein each said application is commonly owned byAssignee, Metrologic Instruments, Inc., of Blackwood, N.J., and isincorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates generally to digital image capturing andprocessing scanners of ultra-compact design capable of reading bar codesymbols in point-of-sale (POS) and other demanding scanningenvironments.

2. Brief Description of the State of Knowledge in the Art

The use of bar code symbols for product and article identification iswell known in the art. Presently, various types of bar code symbolscanners have been developed for reading bar code symbols at retailpoints of sale (POS). In general, these bar code symbol readers can beclassified into two (2) distinct classes.

The first class of bar code symbol reader uses a focused light beam,typically a focused laser beam, to sequentially scan the bars and spacesof a bar code symbol to be read. This type of bar code symbol scanner iscommonly called a “flying spot” scanner as the focused laser beamappears as “a spot of light that flies” across the bar code symbol beingread. In general, laser bar code symbol scanners are sub-classifiedfurther by the type of mechanism used to focus and scan the laser beamacross bar code symbols.

The second class of bar code symbol readers simultaneously illuminateall of the bars and spaces of a bar code symbol with light of a specificwavelength(s) in order to capture an image thereof for recognition anddecoding purposes.

The majority of laser scanners in the first class employ lenses andmoving (i.e. rotating or oscillating) mirrors and/or other opticalelements in order to focus and scan laser beams across bar code symbolsduring code symbol reading operations. Examples of hand-held laserscanning bar code readers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,007,849 and7,028,904, each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Examples of laser scanning presentation bar code readers are describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,093, incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. Other examples of bar code symbol readers using multiple laserscanning mechanisms are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,714,incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In demanding retail environments, such as supermarkets and high-volumedepartment stores, where high check-out throughput is critical toachieving store profitability and customer satisfaction, it is commonfor laser scanning bar code reading systems to have both bottom andside-scanning windows to enable highly aggressive scanner performance.In such systems, the cashier need only drag a bar coded product pastthese scanning windows for the bar code thereon to be automatically readwith minimal assistance of the cashier or checkout personal. Such dualscanning window systems are typically referred to as “bioptical” laserscanning systems as such systems employ two sets of optics disposedbehind the bottom and side-scanning windows thereof. Examples ofpolygon-based bioptical laser scanning systems are disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos.: 4,229,588; 4,652,732 and 6,814,292; each incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

Commercial examples of bioptical laser scanners include: the PSC8500-6-sided laser based scanning by PSC Inc.; PSC 8100/8200, 5-sidedlaser based scanning by PSC Inc.; the NCR 7876-6-sided laser basedscanning by NCR; the NCR7872, 5-sided laser based scanning by NCR; andthe MS232x Stratos®H, and MS2122 Stratos® E Stratos 6 sided laser basedscanning systems by Metrologic Instruments, Inc., and the MS2200Stratos®S 5-sided laser based scanning system by Metrologic Instruments,Inc.

In general, prior art bioptical laser scanning systems are generallymore aggressive that conventional single scanning window systems.However, while prior art bioptical scanning systems represent atechnological advance over most single scanning window system, prior artbioptical scanning systems in general suffer from various shortcomingsand drawbacks. In particular, the scanning coverage and performance ofprior art bioptical laser scanning systems are not optimized. Thesesystems are generally expensive to manufacture by virtue of the largenumber of optical components presently required to construct such laserscanning systems. Also, they require heavy and expensive motors whichconsume significant amounts of electrical power and generate significantamounts of heat.

In the second class of bar code symbol readers, early forms of linearimaging scanners were commonly known as CCD scanners because they usedCCD image detectors to detect images of the bar code symbols being read.Examples of such scanners are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,282,425, and4,570,057; each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In more recent times, hand-held imaging-based bar code readers employingarea-type image sensing arrays based on CCD and CMOS sensor technologieshave gained increasing popularity.

In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/712,787, a detailed history ofhand-hand imaging—based bar code symbol readers is provided, explainingthe many problems that had to be overcome to make imaging-based scannerscompetitive against laser-scanning based bar code readers. MetrologicInstruments' Focus® Hand-Held Imager is representative of an advance inthe art which has overcome such historical problems. An advantage of 2Dimaging-based bar code symbol readers is that they are omni-directionalby nature of image capturing and processing based decode processingsoftware that is commercially available from various vendors.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,954 to Barkan et al. proposes a combination oflinear image sensing arrays in a hand-held unit to form anomni-directional imaging-based bar code symbol reader. However, thishand-held imager has limited application to 1D bar code symbols, and isextremely challenged in reading 2D bar code symbologies at POSapplications.

And yet despite the increasing popularity in area-type hand-held andpresentation type imaging-based bar code symbol reading systems, suchsystems still cannot complete with the performance characteristics ofconventional laser scanning bioptical bar code symbol readers in POSenvironments.

Thus, there is a great need in the art for an improved bar code symbolreading system that is capable of competing with conventional laserscanning bioptical bar code readers employed in demanding POSenvironments, and providing the many advantages offered by imaging-basedbar code symbol readers, while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacksof such prior art systems and methodologies.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide animproved digital image capturing and processing apparatus for use in POSenvironments, which is free of the shortcomings and drawbacks of priorart bioptical laser scanning systems and methodologies.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a digitalimage capturing and processing apparatus in the form of anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system that employs advanced coplanar illumination and imagingtechnologies.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, comprising a plurality of coplanar illumination andimaging stations (i.e. subsystems), generating a plurality of coplanarlight illumination beams and field of views (FOVs), that are projectedthrough and intersect above an imaging window to generate a complex oflinear-imaging planes within a 3D imaging volume for omni-directionalimaging of objects passed therethrough.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein the plurality of coplanar light illuminationbeams can be generated by an array of coherent or incoherent lightsources.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein the array of coherent light sources comprises anarray of visible laser diodes (VLDs).

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein the array of incoherent light sources comprisesan array of light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein is capable of reading (i) bar code symbolshaving bar code elements (i.e., ladder type bar code symbols) that areoriented substantially horizontal with respect to the imaging window, aswell as (ii) bar code symbols having bar code elements (i.e.,picket-fence type bar code symbols) that are oriented substantiallyvertical with respect to the imaging window.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, which comprises a plurality of coplanar illumination andimaging stations (i.e. subsystems), each of which produces a coplanarPLIB/FOV within predetermined regions of space contained within a 3-Dimaging volume defined above the imaging window of the system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein each coplanar illumination and imaging stationcomprises a planar light illumination module (PLIM) that generates aplanar light illumination beam (PLIB) and a linear image sensing arrayand field of view (FOV) forming optics for generating a planar FOV whichis coplanar with its respective PLIB.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, comprising a plurality of coplanar illumination andimaging stations, each employing a linear array of laser light emittingdevices configured together, with a linear imaging array withsubstantially planar FOV forming optics, producing a substantiallyplanar beam of laser illumination which extends in substantially thesame plane as the field of view of the linear array of the station,within the working distance of the 3D imaging volume.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, having an electronic weigh scale integrated within thesystem housing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, comprising a plurality of coplanar illumination andimaging stations strategically arranged within an ultra-compact housing,so as to project out through an imaging window a plurality of coplanarillumination and imaging planes that capture omni-directional views ofobjects passing through a 3D imaging volume supported above the imagingwindow.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system comprising a plurality of coplanar illumination andimaging stations, each employing an array of planar laser illuminationmodules (PLIMs).

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein at each coplanar illumination and imagingstation, an array of VLDs concentrate their output power into a thinillumination plane which spatially coincides exactly with the field ofview of the imaging optics of the coplanar illumination and imagingstation, so very little light energy is wasted.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein each planar illumination beam is focused so thatthe minimum width thereof occurs at a point or plane which is thefarthest object distance at which the system is designed to captureimages within the 3D imaging volume of the system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein at each coplanar illumination and imagingstation, an object need only be illuminated along a single plane whichis coplanar with a planar section of the field of view of the imageformation and detection module being used in the system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein low-power, light-weight, high-response,ultra-compact, high-efficiency solid-state illumination producingdevices, such as visible laser diodes (VLDs), are used to selectivelyilluminate ultra-narrow sections of a target object during imageformation and detection operations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein the planar laser illumination technique enablesmodulation of the spatial and/or temporal intensity of the transmittedplanar laser illumination beam, and use of simple (i.e. substantiallymonochromatic) lens designs for substantially monochromatic opticalillumination and image formation and detection operations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein intelligent object presence detection, motionand trajectory detection techniques are employed to automaticallydetermined when and where an object is being moved through the 3Dimaging volume of the system, and to selectively activate only thoselight emitting sources when an object is being moved within the spatialextent of its substantially planar laser beam so as to minimize theillumination of consumers who might be present along the lines ofprojected illumination/imaging during the operation of the system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein such intelligent object presence detection,motion and trajectory detection includes the use of an imaging-basedmotion sensor, at each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem, andhaving a field of view that is spatially aligned with at least a portionof the field of view of the linear image sensing array employed in thecoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein the imaging-based motion sensor employed at eachcoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem therein employs the laserillumination array of the coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem,operated at a lower operating power, to illuminate objects while thesystem is operating in its object motion/velocity detection mode.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein the imaging-based motion sensor is used todetermine the velocity of objects moving though the field of view (FOV)of a particular coplanar illumination and imaging station, andautomatically control the frequency at which pixel data, associated withcaptured linear images, is transferred out of the linear image sensingarray and into buffer memory.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system employing a plurality of coplanar illumination andimaging stations, wherein each such station includes a linear imagingmodule realized as an array of electronic image detection cells (e.g.CCD) having programmable integration time settings, responsive to theautomatically detected velocity of an object being imaged, for enablinghigh-speed image capture operations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system employing a plurality of coplanar illumination andimaging stations, wherein at each such station, a pair of planar laserillumination arrays are mounted about an image formation and detectionmodule having a field of view, so as to produce a substantially planarlaser illumination beam which is coplanar with the field of view duringobject illumination and imaging operations, and one or more beam/FOVfolding mirrors are used to direct the resulting coplanar illuminationand imaging plane through the imaging window of the system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system employing a plurality of coplanar illumination andimaging stations, wherein each such station supports an independentimage generation and processing channel that receives frames of linear(1D) images from the linear image sensing array and automaticallybuffers these linear images in video memory and automatically assemblesthese linear images to construct 2D images of the object taken along thefield of view of the coplanar illumination and imaging plane associatedwith the station, and then processes these images using exposure qualityanalysis algorithms, bar code decoding algorithms, and the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system capable of reading PDF bar codes for age verification,credit card application and other productivity gains.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system capable of reading PDF and 2D bar codes onproduce—eliminating keyboard entry and enjoying productivity gains.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system supporting image capture and processing for produceautomatic produce recognition and price lookup support—eliminatingkeyboard entry and enjoying productivity gains.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system supporting image capture and processing for analyzingcashier scanning tendencies, and providing cashier training to helpachieve productivity gains.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system supporting image capture and processing for automaticitem look up when there is no bar code or price tag on an item, therebyachieving productivity gains.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a very fast wakeup from sleep mode—ready to scanfirst item—to achieve productivity gains.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a plurality of coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystems (i.e. stations), each supporting an object motion/velocitysensing mode of operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem(i.e. station) employs an illumination control method that may involvethe control of parameters selected from the group consisting of:illumination source (e.g. ambient, LED, VLD); illumination intensity(e.g. low-power, half-power, full power); illumination beam width (e.g.narrow, wide); and illumination beam thickness (e.g. beam thickness).

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein the different illumination control methods thatcan be implemented at each illumination and imaging station in thesystem, include:

(1) Ambient Control Method, wherein ambient lighting is used toilluminate the FOV of the image sensing array in the objectmotion/velocity sensing subsystem during the object motion/velocitydetection mode and bar code symbol reading mode of subsystem operation;

(2) Partial-Power Illumination Method, wherein illumination producedfrom the LED or VLD array is operated at half, fractional or otherwisepartial power, and directed into the field of view (FOV) of the imagesensing array employed in the object motion/velocity sensing subsystem;

(3) Full-Power Illumination Method, wherein illumination produced by theLED or VLD array is operated at half or fractional power, and directedin the field of view (FOV) of the image sensing array employed in theobject motion/velocity sensing subsystem.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein each coplanar illumination and imaging stationemploys an Illumination Beam Width Method, such that the thickness ofthe planar illumination beam (PLIB) is increased so as to illuminatemore pixels (e.g. 3 or more pixels) on the image sensing array of objectmotion when the station is operated in its object motion/velocitydetection mode.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a plurality of coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystems (i.e. stations), wherein a method of Distributed LocalControl is employed, such that at each illumination and imaging station,the local control subsystem controls the function and operation of thecomponents of the illumination and imaging subsystem, and sends statedata to the global control subsystem for state management at the levelof system operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a plurality of coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystems (i.e. stations), wherein a method of Distributed LocalControl, with Global Over-Ride Control, is employed, such that the localcontrol subsystem controls the function and operation of the componentsof the illumination and imaging subsystem, and sends state data to theglobal control subsystem for state management at the level of systemoperation, as well as for over-riding the control functions of nearestneighboring local control subsystems employed within other illuminationand imaging stations in the system, thereby allowing the global controlsubsystem to drive one or more other stations in the system to the barcode reading state upon receiving state data from a local controlsubsystem that an object has been detected and its velocitycomputed/estimated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a plurality of coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystems (i.e. stations), wherein a method of Distributed LocalControl, with Global Over-Ride Control, is employed, such that the localcontrol subsystem controls the function and operation of the componentsof the illumination and imaging subsystem, and sends state data to theglobal control subsystem for state management at the level of systemoperation, as well as for over-riding the control functions of allneighboring local control subsystems employed within other illuminationand imaging stations in the system, thereby allowing the global controlsubsystem to drive one or more other stations in the system to the barcode reading state upon receiving state data from a local controlsubsystem that an object has been detected and its velocitycomputed/estimated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a plurality of coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystems (i.e. stations), wherein a method of Global Control isemployed, such that the local control subsystem in each illumination andimaging station controls the operation of the subcomponents in thestation, except for “state control” which is managed at the system levelby the global control subsystem using “state data” generated by one ormore object motion sensors (e.g. imaging based, IR Pulse-DopplerLIDAR-based, ultra-sonic energy based, etc.) provided at the systemlevel within the 3D imaging volume of the system, in various possiblelocations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a plurality of coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystems (i.e. stations), wherein one or more Pulse-Doppler LIDARsubsystems, or Pulse-Doppler SONAR subsystems, are employed in thesystem so that real-time object velocity sensing can be achieved withinthe 3D imaging volume, or across a major section or diagonal thereof, sothat object velocity data can be captured and distributed (in real-time)to each illumination and imaging station (via the global controlsubsystem) for purposes of adjusting the illumination and/or exposurecontrol parameters therein (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal usedto read out image data from the linear image sensing array within theIFD subsystem in the station).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital imagecapturing and processing system having an integrated electronic weighscale, wherein its image capturing and processing module electricallyinterfaces with its electronic weigh scale module by way of a pair oftouch-fit electrical interconnectors that automatically establish allelectrical interconnections between the two modules when the imagecapturing and processing module is placed onto the electronic weighscale module, and its electronic load cell bears the weight of the imagecapturing and processing module.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital imagecapturing and processing bar code reading system, with an integratedelectronic weigh scale subsystem, suitable for POS applications, whereinthe load cell of the electronic weigh scale module directly bearssubstantially all of the weight of the image capturing and processingmodule (and any produce articles placed thereon during weighingoperations), while a touch-fit electrical interconnector arrangementautomatically establishes all electrical interconnections between thetwo modules.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, wherein the 2D images produced from the multiple imagegeneration and processing channels are managed by an image processingmanagement processor programmed to optimize image processing flows.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system which supports intelligent image-based object recognitionprocesses that can be used to automate the recognition of objects suchas produce and fruit in supermarket environments.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having an integrated electronic weight scale, an RFIDmodule, and modular support of wireless technology (e.g. BlueTooth andIEEE 802.11(g)).

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system capable of reading bar code symbologies independent ofbar code orientation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a 5 mil read capability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a below counter depth not to exceed 3.5″ (89 mm).

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having direct connect power for PlusPower USB Ports.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having an integrated scale with its load cell positionedsubstantially in the center of weighing platform.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having an integrated Sensormatic® deactivation device,and an integrated Checkpoint® EAS antenna.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system employing cashier training software, and productivitymeasurement software showing how an operator actually oriented packagesas they were scanned by the system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having flash ROM capability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system that can power a hand held scanner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having a mechanism for weighing oversized produce.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system having excellent debris deflecting capabilities.

Another object of the present invention is to provide anomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system that is capable of reading all types of poor qualitycodes—eliminating keyboard entry and enjoying productivity gains.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image capturingand processing scanner based high throughput scanner that can addressthe needs of the supermarket/hypermarket and grocery store marketsegment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image capturingand processing scanner having a performance advantage that leads toquicker customer checkout times and productivity gain that cannot bematched by the conventional bioptic laser scanners.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a high throughputimage capturing and processing scanner which can assist in loweringoperational costs by exceptional First Pass Read Rate scanning and oneproduct pass performance, enabling sales transactions to be executedwith no manual keyboard entry required by the operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a high performanceimage capturing and processing checkout scanner that can meet theemerging needs of retailers to scan PDF and 2D bar codes for ageverification and produce items.

Another object of the present invention is to provide high performanceimage capturing and processing scanner capable of capturing the imagesof produce and products for price lookup applications.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital imagecapturing and processing scanner that provides a measurable advancementin First Pass Read Rate scanning with the end result leading tonoticeable gains in worker productivity and checkout speed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital imagecapturing and processing scanner that employs no moving partstechnology, has a light weight design and offers a low cost solutionthat translate easily into a lower cost of ownership.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparenthereinafter and in the Claims to Invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more fully understand the Objects of the Present Invention,the following Detailed Description of the Illustrative Embodimentsshould be read in conjunction with the accompanying figure Drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a retail point of sale (POS) station ofthe present invention employing an illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention, shown integrated with anelectronic weight scale, an RFID reader and magnet-stripe card reader,and having thin, tablet-like form factor for compact mounting in thecountertop surface of the POS station;

FIG. 2 is a first perspective view of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of thepresent invention shown removed from its POS environment in FIG. 1, andprovided with an imaging window protection plate (mounted over a glasslight transmission window) and having a central X aperture pattern and apair of parallel apertures aligned parallel to the sides of the system,for the projection of coplanar illumination and imaging planes from acomplex of coplanar illumination and imaging stations mounted beneaththe imaging window of the system;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system shown in FIG. 2,wherein the apertured imaging window protection plate is simply removedfrom its glass imaging window for cleaning the glass imaging window,during routine maintenance operations at POS station environments;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system shown in FIG. 2,wherein the image capturing and processing module (having a thin tabletform factor) is removed from the electronic weigh scale module duringmaintenance operations, revealing the centrally located load cell, andthe touch-fit electrical interconnector arrangement of the presentinvention that automatically establishes all electrical interconnectionsbetween the two modules when the image capturing and processing moduleis placed onto the electronic weigh scale module, and its electronicload cell bears the weight of the image capturing and processing module;

FIG. 2C is an elevated side view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system shown in FIG. 2B,wherein the image capturing and processing module is removed from theelectronic weigh scale module during maintenance operations, revealingthe centrally located load cell, and the touch-fit electricalinterconnector arrangement of the present invention that automaticallyestablishes all electrical interconnections between the two modules whenthe image capturing and processing module is placed onto the electronicweigh scale module, and its electronic load cell bears substantially allof the weight of the image capturing and processing module;

FIG. 2D is an elevated side view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system shown in FIG. 2B,wherein side wall housing skirt is removed for illustration purposes toreveal how the load cell of the electronic weigh scale module directlybears all of the weight of the image capturing and processing module(and any produce articles placed thereon during weighing operations)while the touch-fit electrical interconnector arrangement of the presentinvention automatically establishes all electrical interconnectionsbetween the two modules;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, showing afirst coplanar illumination and imaging plane being generated from afirst coplanar illumination and imaging station, and projected through afirst side aperture formed in the imaging window protection plate of thesystem, and wherein the coplanar illumination and imaging plane of thestation is composed of several segments which can be independently andelectronically controlled under the local control subsystem of thestation;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, showing asecond coplanar illumination and imaging plane being generated from asecond coplanar illumination and imaging station, and projected througha first part of the central X aperture pattern formed in the imagingwindow protection plate of the system;

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, showing athird coplanar illumination and imaging plane being generated from athird coplanar illumination and imaging station, and projected through asecond part of the central X aperture pattern formed in the imagingwindow protection plate of the system;

FIG. 3D is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, showing afourth coplanar illumination and imaging plane being generated from afourth coplanar illumination and imaging station, and projected througha third part of the central X aperture pattern formed in the imagingwindow protection plate of the system;

FIG. 3E is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, showing afifth coplanar illumination and imaging plane being generated from afifth coplanar illumination and imaging station, and projected through afourth part of the central X aperture pattern formed in the imagingwindow protection plate of the system;

FIG. 3F is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, showing asixth coplanar illumination and imaging plane being generated from asixth coplanar illumination and imaging station, and projected through asecond side aperture formed in the imaging window protection plate ofthe system;

FIG. 3G is a first elevated side view of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2,showing all of its six coplanar illumination and imaging planes beingsubstantially simultaneously generated from the complex of coplanarillumination and imaging stations, and projected through the imagingwindow of the system, via the apertures in its imaging window protectionplate, and intersecting within a 3-D imaging volume supported above theimaging window;

FIG. 3H is a second elevated side view of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2,showing all of its six coplanar illumination and imaging planes beingsubstantially simultaneously projected through the imaging window of thesystem, via the apertures in its imaging window protection plate;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the printed-circuit(PC)-board/optical-bench associated with the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2,shown with the top portion of its housing, including its imaging windowand window protection plate, removed for purposes of revealing thecoplanar illumination and imaging stations mounted on the optical benchof the system and without these stations generating their respectivecoplanar illumination and imaging planes;

FIG. 4B is a plane view of the optical bench associated with theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of FIG. 2, shown with the top portion of its housing,including its imaging window and window protection plate, removed forpurposes of revealing the coplanar illumination and imaging stationsmounted on the optical bench of the system while these stations aregenerating their respective coplanar illumination and imaging planes;

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, shownwith the top portion of its housing, including its imaging window andwindow protection plate removed, wherein the first coplanar illuminationand imaging plane is shown generated from the first coplanarillumination and imaging station and projected through the first sideaperture formed in the imaging window protection plate of the system;

FIG. 4D is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, shownwith the top portion of its housing, including its imaging window andwindow protection plate removed, wherein the second coplanarillumination and imaging plane is shown generated from the secondcoplanar illumination and imaging station and projected through thefirst part of the central X aperture pattern formed in the imagingwindow protection plate of the system;

FIG. 4E is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, shownwith the top portion of its housing, including its imaging window andwindow protection plate removed, wherein the third coplanar illuminationand imaging plane is shown generated from the third coplanarillumination and imaging station and projected through the second partof the central X aperture pattern formed in the imaging windowprotection plate of the system;

FIG. 4F is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, shownwith the top portion of its housing, including its imaging window andwindow protection plate removed, wherein the fourth coplanarillumination and imaging plane is shown generated from the fourthcoplanar illumination and imaging station, and projected through thethird part of the central X aperture pattern formed in the imagingwindow protection plate of the system;

FIG. 4G is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, shownwith the top portion of its housing, including its imaging window andwindow protection plate removed, wherein the fifth coplanar illuminationand imaging plane is shown generated from the fifth coplanarillumination and imaging station, and projected through the fourth partof the central X aperture pattern formed in the imaging windowprotection plate of the system;

FIG. 4H is a perspective view of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2, shownwith the top portion of its housing, including its imaging window andwindow protection plate removed, wherein the sixth coplanar illuminationand imaging plane is shown generated from the sixth coplanarillumination and imaging station, and projected through the second sideaperture formed in the imaging window protection plate of the system;

FIG. 5A is a block schematic representation of a generalized embodimentof the omni-directional image capturing and processing system of thepresent invention, comprising a complex of coplanar illuminating andlinear imaging stations, constructed using VLD-based or LED-basedillumination arrays and linear and/area type image sensing arrays, andreal-time object motion/velocity detection techniques for enablingintelligent automatic illumination control within its 3D imaging volume,as well as automatic image formation and capture along each coplanarillumination and imaging plane therewithin;

FIG. 5B is a block schematic representation of a coplanar or coextensiveillumination and imaging subsystem (i.e. station) employed in thegeneralized embodiment of the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing system of FIG. 5A, comprising an image formation anddetection subsystem having an image sensing array and optics providing afield of view (FOV) on the image sensing array, an illuminationsubsystem producing a field of illumination that is substantiallycoplanar or coextensive with the FOV of the image sensing array, animage capturing and buffering subsystem for capturing and bufferingimages from the image sensing array, an automatic object motion/velocitydetection subsystem for automatically detecting the motion and velocityof an object moving through at least a portion of the FOV of the imagesensing array, and a local control subsystem for controlling theoperations of the subsystems within the illumination and imagingstation;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention, shown removed from its POSenvironment, and with one coplanar illumination and imaging plane beingprojected through an aperture in its imaging window protection plate,along with a plurality of object motion/velocity detection field ofviews (FOVs) that are spatially co-incident with portions of the fieldof view (FOV) of the linear imaging array employed in the coplanarillumination and imaging station generating the projected coplanarillumination and imaging plane;

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a first design for each coplanarillumination and imaging station that can be employed in theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of FIG. 6, wherein a linear array of VLDs or LEDs areused to generate a substantially planar illumination beam (PLIB) fromthe station that is coplanar with the field of view of the linear (1D)image sensing array employed in the station, and wherein three (3)high-speed imaging-based motion/velocity sensors (i.e. detectors) aredeployed at the station for the purpose of (i) detecting whether or notan object is present within the FOV at any instant in time, and (ii)detecting the motion and velocity of objects passing through the FOV ofthe linear image sensing array and controlling camera parameters inreal-time, including the clock frequency of the linear image sensingarray;

FIG. 6B is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 6, wherein a complex of coplanar illuminating and linear imagingstations, constructed using VLD-based or LED-based illumination arraysand linear (CMOS-based) image sensing arrays, as shown in FIG. 6A, andimaging-based object motion/velocity sensing and intelligent automaticillumination control within the 3D imaging volume, and automatic imageformation and capture along each coplanar illumination and imaging planetherewithin;

FIG. 6C is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 6B, showing its planar illumination array (PLIA), its linear imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed imaging based object motion/velocity detecting(i.e. sensing) subsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 6D is a schematic representation of an exemplary high-speedimaging-based motion/velocity sensor employed in the high-speed imagingbased object motion/velocity detecting (i.e. sensing) subsystem of thecoplanar illumination and imaging station of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6E1 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach coplanar illumination and imaging station supported by the system,shown comprising an area-type image acquisition subsystem and anembedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to support high-speedlocally digital image capture and (local) processing operations requiredfor real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 6E2 is a high-level flow chart describing the steps involved in theobject motion/velocity detection process carried out at each coplanarillumination and imaging station supported by the system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6E3 is a schematic representation illustrating the automaticdetection of object motion and velocity at each coplanar illuminationand imaging station in the system of the present invention, employing animaging-based object motion/velocity sensing subsystem having a 2D imagesensing array;

FIG. 6E4 is a schematic representation illustrating the automaticdetection of object motion and velocity at each coplanar illuminationand imaging station in the system of the present invention depicted inFIG. 2, employing an imaging-based object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem having a 1D image sensing array;

FIG. 6F1 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 2 and 6C, running the system control program described in FIGS.6G1A and 6G1B;

FIG. 6F2 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 2 and 6C, running the system control program described in FIGS.6G2A and 6G2B;

FIG. 6F3 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 2 and 6C, running the system control program described in FIGS.6G2A and 6G2B;

FIGS. 6G1A and 6G1B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 6F1 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 2 and 6E4, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 6G2A and 6G2B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 6F2 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 2 and 6E4, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 6G3A and 6G3B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 6F3 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 2 and 6E4, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboring stations upon thedetection of an object by one of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations;

FIG. 6H is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 2 and 6C;

FIG. 6I is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 6H, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIGS. 2 and 6C;

FIG. 6′ is a perspective view of second illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention, shown removed from its POSenvironment, and with one coplanar illumination and imaging plane beingprojected through an aperture in its imaging window protection plate,along with a plurality of IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based objectmotion/velocity sensing beams that are spatially co-incident withportions of the field of view (FOV) of the linear imaging array employedin the coplanar illumination and imaging station generating theprojected coplanar illumination and imaging plane;

FIG. 6A′ is a perspective view of a design for each coplanarillumination and imaging station that can be employed in theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of FIG. 6′, wherein a linear array of VLDs or LEDs areused to generate a substantially planar illumination beam (PLIB) fromthe station that is coplanar with the field of view of the linear (1D)image sensing array employed in the station, and wherein three (3)high-speed IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based motion/velocity sensors aredeployed at the station for the purpose of (i) detecting whether or notan object is present within the FOV at any instant in time, and (ii)detecting the motion and velocity of objects passing through the FOV ofthe linear image sensing array and controlling camera parameters inreal-time, including the clock frequency of the linear image sensingarray;

FIG. 6B′ is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 6′, wherein a complex of coplanar illuminating and linear imagingstations are constructed using (i) VLD-based or LED-based illuminationarrays and (ii) linear (CMOS-based) image sensing arrays as shown inFIG. 6A′ for automatic image formation and capture along each coplanarillumination and imaging plane therewithin, and (ii) IR Pulse-DopplerLIDAR based object motion/velocity sensing subsystems for intelligentautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system;

FIG. 6C′ is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 6B′, showing its planar illumination array (PLIA), its linear imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based objectmotion/velocity detecting (i.e. sensing) subsystem, and its localcontrol subsystem;

FIG. 6D1′ is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 6B′, showing in greater detail its IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR basedobject motion/velocity detection subsystem and how it cooperates withthe local control subsystem, the planar illumination array (PLIA), andthe linear image formation and detection subsystem;

FIG. 6D2′ is a schematic representation of the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDARbased object motion/velocity detecting (i.e. sensing) subsystem of thecoplanar illumination and imaging station of FIG. 6A′;

FIG. 6E′ is a high-level flow chart describing the steps involved in theobject motion/velocity detection process carried out at each coplanarillumination and imaging station supported by the system of FIG. 6′;

FIG. 6F1′ is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 6′, running the system control program described in FIGS. 6G1A′and 6G1B′;

FIG. 6F2′ is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 6′, running the system control program described in FIGS. 6G2A′and 6G2B′;

FIG. 6F3′ is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 6′, running the system control program described in FIGS. 6G2A′and 6G2B;

FIGS. 6G1A′ and 6G1B′, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 6F1′ carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 6′, employing locally-controlled (IRPulse-Doppler LIDAR based) object motion/velocity detection in eachcoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 6G2A′ and 6G2B′, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 6F2′ carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 6′, employing locally-controlled (IRPulse-Doppler LIDAR based) object motion/velocity detection in eachcoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 6G3A′ and 6G3B′, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 6F3′ carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 6′, employing locally-controlled (IRPulse-Doppler LIDAR based) object motion/velocity detection in eachcoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboring stations upon thedetection of an object by one of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations;

FIG. 6H′ is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 6′;

FIG. 6I′ is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 6H′, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 6′;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the third illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention shown provided with an imagingwindow protection plate (mounted over its glass light transmissionwindow) and having a central X aperture pattern and a pair of parallelapertures aligned parallel to the sides of the system, for theprojection of coplanar illumination and imaging planes from a complex ofcoplanar illumination and imaging stations mounted beneath the imagingwindow of the system, in substantially the same manner as shown in FIGS.3A through 5B;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of an alternative design for each coplanarillumination and imaging station employed in the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 7, which includes a dual-type coplanar linear illumination andimaging engine for producing a pair of planar light illumination beams(PLIBs) that are coplanar with the FOVs of a pair of linear imagesensing arrays; and a pair of beam/FOV folding mirrors for folding thepair of coplanar PLIB/FOVs towards the objects to be illuminated andimaged, so as to capture image pairs of the object for purposes ofimplementing imaging-based motion and velocity detection processeswithin the system;

FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the dual-type coplanar linearillumination and imaging engine of FIG. 7A shown as comprising a pair oflinear arrays of VLDs or LEDs for generating a pair of substantiallyplanar light illumination beams (PLIBs) from the station, a pair ofspaced-apart linear (1D) image sensing arrays having optics forproviding field of views (FOVs) that are coplanar with the pair ofPLIBs, and for capturing pairs of sets of linear images of an objectbeing illuminated and imaged, and a pair of memory buffers (i.e. VRAM)for buffering the sets of linear images produced by the pair of linearimage sensing arrays, respectively, so as to reconstruct a pair of 2Ddigital images for transmission to and processing by the multiprocessorimage processing subsystem in order to compute motion and velocity dataregarding the object being imaged, from image data, for use incontrolling the illumination and exposure parameters employed in theimage acquisition subsystem at each station;

FIG. 7C is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 7, wherein a complex of coplanar illuminating and linear imagingstations, each constructed using the dual-type coplanar linearillumination and imaging engine of FIG. 7B that supports automaticimaging-processing based object motion/velocity detection, intelligentautomatic illumination control within the 3D imaging volume, andautomatic image formation and capture along its respective coplanarillumination and imaging plane;

FIG. 7D is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 7, showing its (i) pair of substantially planar illumination arrays(PLIAs) constructed from arrays of VLDs and/or LEDs, (ii) its imageformation and detection subsystem employing a pair of linear imagesensing arrays, and (iii) its image capture and buffering subsystememploying a pair of 2D image memory buffers, for implementing, inconjunction with the image processing subsystem of the system, real-timeimaging based object motion/velocity sensing functions during its objectmotion/velocity detection states of operation, while one of the linearimage sensors and one or the 2D image memory buffers are used to capturehigh-resolution images of the detected object for bar code decodeprocessing during bar code reading states of operation in the system;

FIG. 7E1 is a schematic representation of the architecture of the objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem of the present invention provided ateach coplanar illumination and imaging station in the system embodimentof FIG. 7, wherein a pair of linear image sensing arrays, a pair of 2Dimage memory buffers and an image processor are configured, from localsubsystems (i.e. local to the station), so as to implement a real-timeimaging based object motion/velocity sensing process at the stationduring its object motion/velocity detection mode of operation;

FIG. 7E2 is a schematic representation of the object motion/velocitydetection process carried out at each coplanar illumination and imagingstation employed in the system embodiment of FIG. 7, using the objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem schematically illustrated in FIG.7E1;

FIG. 7F1 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 7, running the system control program described in FIGS. 7G1Aand 7G1B;

FIG. 7F2 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 7, running the system control program described in FIGS. 7G2Aand 7G2B;

FIG. 7F3 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 7, running the system control program described in FIGS. 7G2Aand 7G2B;

FIGS. 7G1A and 7G1B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 7F1 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 7 and 7E1, employing locally-controlledobject motion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination andimaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 7G2A and 7G2B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 7F2 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 7, employing locally-controlled objectmotion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystem of the system, with globally-controlled over-driving ofnearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 7G3A and 7G3B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 7F3 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 7, employing locally-controlled objectmotion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystem of the system, with globally-controlled over-driving ofall-neighboring stations upon the detection of an object by one of thecoplanar illumination and imaging stations;

FIG. 7H is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIGS. 7 and 7C;

FIG. 7I is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 7H, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 7;

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a fourth illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention installed in the countertopsurface of a retail POS station, shown comprising a complex of coplanarillumination and imaging stations projecting a plurality of coplanarillumination and imaging planes through the 3D imaging volume of thesystem, and plurality of globally-implemented imaging-based objectmotion and velocity detection subsystems continually sensing thepresence, motion and velocity of objects within the 3-D imaging volume;

FIG. 8A1 is a schematic representation of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG.8A, wherein each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem employs alinear array of VLDs or LEDs for generating a substantially planarillumination beam (PLIB) that is coplanar with the field of view of itslinear (1D) image sensing array, and wherein a plurality ofglobally-controlled high-speed imaging-based motion/velocity subsystemsare deployed in the system for the purpose of (i) detecting whether ornot an object is present within the 3-D imaging volume of the system atany instant in time, and (ii) detecting the motion and velocity ofobjects passing therethrough and controlling camera parameters at eachstation in real-time, including the clock frequency of the linear imagesensing arrays;

FIG. 8A2 is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 8A1, showing its planar illumination array (PLIA), its linear imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 8A3 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed in thesystem of FIG. 8A1, shown comprising an area-type image acquisitionsubsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip tosupport high-speed digital image capture and (global) processingoperations required for real-time object motion/velocity detectionthrough the 3D imaging volume of the system;

FIG. 8A4 is a high-level flow chart describing the steps associated withthe object motion and velocity detection process carried out in theobject motion/velocity detection subsystems globally implemented in thesystem of FIGS. 8A and 8A1;

FIG. 8B is a perspective view of a fifth illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention installed in the countertopsurface of a retail POS station, shown comprising a complex of coplanarillumination and imaging stations projecting a plurality of coplanarillumination and imaging planes through the 3D imaging volume of thesystem, and plurality of globally-implemented IR Pulse-Doppler LIDARbased object motion and velocity detection subsystems continuallysensing the presence, motion and velocity of objects within the 3-Dimaging volume;

FIG. 8B1 is a schematic representation of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG.8B, wherein each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem employs alinear array of VLDs or LEDs for generating a substantially planarillumination beam (PLIB) that is coplanar with the field of view of itslinear (1D) image sensing array, and wherein a plurality ofglobally-controlled high-speed IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR-basedmotion/velocity subsystems are deployed in the system for the purpose of(i) detecting whether or not an object is present within the 3-D imagingvolume of the system at any instant in time, and (ii) detecting themotion and velocity of objects passing therethrough and controllingcamera parameters at each station in real-time, including the clockfrequency of the linear image sensing arrays;

FIG. 8B2 is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 8B1, showing its planar illumination array (PLIA), its linear imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 8C is a block schematic representation of the high-speed IRPulse-Doppler LIDAR-based object motion/velocity detection subsystememployed in the system of FIG. 8B1, shown comprising an area-type imageacquisition subsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP)ASIC chip to support high-speed digital signal processing operationsrequired for real-time object motion/velocity detection through the 3Dimaging volume of the system;

FIG. 8D is a schematic representation of a preferred implementation ofthe high-speed IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR-based object motion/velocitydetection subsystem employed in the system of FIG. 8B1, wherein a pairof pulse-modulated IR laser diodes are focused through optics andprojected into the 3D imaging volume of the system for sensing thepresence, motion and velocity of objects passing therethrough inreal-time using IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR techniques;

FIG. 8E is a high-level flow chart describing the steps associated withthe object motion and velocity detection process carried out in theobject motion/velocity detection subsystems globally implemented in thesystem of FIGS. 8B through 8D;

FIG. 8F is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system in FIG.8B, describing the state transitions that the system undergoes duringoperation;

FIG. 8G is a high-level flow chart describing the operations that areautomatically performed during the state control process carried outwithin the omni-directional image capturing and processing based barcode symbol reading system described in FIG. 8B;

FIG. 8H is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 8B;

FIG. 8I is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 8H, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 8B;

FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a sixth illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention installed in the countertopsurface of a retail POS station, shown comprising both vertical andhorizontal housing sections with coplanar illumination and imagingstations for aggressively supporting both “pass-through” as well as“presentation” modes of bar code image capture;

FIG. 9B is a perspective view of the sixth embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention shown removed from its POSenvironment in FIG. 9A, and comprising a horizontal section assubstantially shown in FIGS. 6, 6A, 6A′, 7, 8A or 8B for projecting afirst complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes from itshorizontal imaging window, and a vertical section that onehorizontally-extending and two vertically-extending spaced-apartcoplanar illumination and imaging planes from its vertical imagingwindow, into the 3D imaging volume of the system;

FIG. 9C is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 9B, wherein the complex of coplanar laser illuminating and linearimaging stations, constructed using either VLD or LED based illuminationarrays and linear (CMOS-based) image sensing arrays as shown in FIGS. 6Aand 7A, support automatic image formation and capture along eachcoplanar illumination and imaging plane therewithin, as well asautomatic imaging-processing based object motion/velocity detection andintelligent automatic laser illumination control within the 3D imagingvolume of the system;

FIG. 9D is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations that can be employed in the system ofFIG. 8C, showing its planar light illumination array (PLIA), its linearimage formation and detection subsystem, its image capturing andbuffering subsystem, its imaging-based object motion and velocitydetection subsystem, and its local control subsystem (i.e.microcontroller);

FIG. 9E is a block schematic representation of the imaging-based objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem employed at each coplanarillumination and imaging station supported by the system, showncomprising an area-type image acquisition subsystem and an embeddeddigital signal processing (DSP) chip to support high-speed digital imagecapture and (local) processing operations required for real-time objectmotion and velocity detection;

FIG. 9F1 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 9B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 9G1Aand 9G1B;

FIG. 9F2 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 9B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 9G2Aand 9G2B;

FIG. 9F3 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 9B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 9G2Aand 9G2B;

FIGS. 9G1A and 9G1B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 9F1 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 9B and 9C, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 9G2A and 9G2B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 9F2 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 9B, employing locally-controlled objectmotion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystem of the system, with globally-controlled over-driving ofnearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 9G3A and 9G3B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 9F3 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 9B, employing locally-controlled objectmotion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystem of the system, with globally-controlled over-driving ofall-neighboring stations upon the detection of an object by one of thecoplanar illumination and imaging stations;

FIG. 9H is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 9B;

FIG. 9I is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 9H, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 9B;

FIG. 10A is a perspective view of a seventh illustrative embodiment ofthe omni-directional image capturing and processing based bar codesymbol reading system of the present invention installed in thecountertop surface of a retail POS station, shown comprising bothvertical and horizontal housing sections with coplanar illumination andimaging stations for aggressively supporting both “pass-through” as wellas “presentation” modes of bar code image capture;

FIG. 10B is a perspective view of the seventh embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention shown removed from its POSenvironment in FIG. 10A, and comprising a horizontal section assubstantially shown in FIG. 2 for projecting a first complex of coplanarillumination and imaging planes from its horizontal imaging window, anda vertical section that projects three vertically-extending coplanarillumination and imaging planes into the 3D imaging volume of thesystem;

FIG. 10C is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 10B, wherein the complex of coplanar laser illuminating and linearimaging stations, constructed using either VLD or LED based illuminationarrays and linear (CMOS-based) image sensing array as shown in FIGS. 6A,6A′ and 7A, support automatic image formation and capture along eachcoplanar illumination and imaging plane within the 3D imaging volume ofthe system, as well as automatic imaging-processing based object motionand velocity detection and intelligent automatic laser illuminationcontrol therewithin;

FIG. 10D is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIGS. 10B and 10C, showing its planar illumination array (PLIA), itslinear image formation and detection subsystem, its image capturing andbuffering subsystem, its high-speed imaging-based object motion andvelocity sensing subsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 10E is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach coplanar illumination and imaging station supported by the systemof FIGS. 10B and 10C, shown comprising an area-type image acquisitionsubsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip tosupport high-speed digital image capture and (local) processingoperations required for real-time object presence, motion and velocitydetection;

FIG. 10F1 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 10B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 10G1Aand 10G1B;

FIG. 10F2 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 10B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 10G2Aand 10G2B;

FIG. 10F3 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 10B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 10G2Aand 10G2B;

FIGS. 10G1A and 10G1B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 10F1 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 10B and 10C, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 10G2A and 10G2B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 10F2 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 10B, employing locally-controlledobject motion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination andimaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlled over-drivingof nearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 10G3A and 10G3B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 10F3 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 10B, employing locally-controlledobject motion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination andimaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlled over-drivingof all-neighboring stations upon the detection of an object by one ofthe coplanar illumination and imaging stations;

FIG. 10H is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system shown FIG. 10B;

FIG. 10I is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 10H, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system shown FIG. 10B;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an eighth illustrative embodiment ofthe omni-directional image capturing and processing based bar codesymbol reading system of the present invention, shown comprising both avertical housing section with coplanar linear illumination and imagingstations, and a vertical housing station with a pair of laterally-spacedarea-type illumination and imaging stations, for aggressively supportingboth “pass-through” as well as “presentation” modes of bar code imagecapture;

FIG. 11A is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 11, wherein the complex of coplanar laser illuminating and linearimaging stations as substantially shown in FIG. 6, 6A, 6A′, 7, 8A or 8Bare mounted within the horizontal section for projecting a first complexof coplanar illumination and imaging planes from its horizontal imagingwindow within a 3D imaging volume, and wherein the pair of area-typeillumination and imaging stations are mounted in the vertical sectionfor projecting a pair of laterally-spaced apart area-type co-extensiveillumination and imaging fields (i.e. zones) into the 3D imaging volumeof the system;

FIG. 11B1 is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 11A, showing its planar illumination array (PLIA), its linear imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed imaging based object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 11B2 is a block schematic representation of one of the area-typeillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 11A, showing its area illumination array, its area-type imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed imaging based object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 11C1 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach coplanar linear-based illumination and imaging station supported bythe system of FIG. 11A, shown comprising a linear-type image acquisitionsubsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip tosupport high-speed digital image capture and (local) processingoperations required for real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 11C2 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach area-based illumination and imaging station supported by the systemof FIG. 11A, shown comprising an area-type image acquisition subsystemand an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to supporthigh-speed digital image capture and (local) processing operationsrequired for real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 11D1 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 11B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 11E1Aand 11E1B;

FIG. 11D2 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 11B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 11E2Aand 11E2B;

FIG. 11D3 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIG. 11B, running the system control program described in FIGS. 11E2Aand 11E2B;

FIGS. 11E1A and 11E1B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 11D1 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 11B and 11C, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 11E2A and 11E2B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 11D2 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 11B, employing locally-controlledobject motion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination andimaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlled over-drivingof nearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 11E3A and 11E3B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 11D3 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 11B, employing locally-controlledobject motion/velocity detection in each coplanar illumination andimaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlled over-drivingof all-neighboring stations upon the detection of an object by one ofthe coplanar illumination and imaging stations;

FIG. 11F is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 11;

FIG. 11G is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 11F, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 11;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a seventh illustrative embodiment ofthe omni-directional image capturing and processing based bar codesymbol reading system of the present invention, shown comprising both ahorizontal housing section with a complex of coplanar linearillumination and imaging stations and a pair of laterally-spacedarea-type illumination and imaging stations mounted within the systemhousing, for aggressively supporting both “pass-through” as well as“presentation” modes of bar code image capture;

FIG. 12A is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 12, wherein the complex of coplanar laser illuminating and linearimaging stations as substantially shown in FIGS. 6, 6A, 6A′, 7, 8A or 8Bare mounted within the horizontal section for projecting a first complexof coplanar illumination and imaging planes from its horizontal imagingwindow, and wherein the pair of area-type illumination and imagingstations are also mounted in the horizontal section for projecting apair of laterally-spaced area-type illumination and imaging fields (i.e.zones) into the 3D imaging volume of the system;

FIG. 12B1 is a block schematic representation of one of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 12A, showing its planar illumination array (PLIA), its linear imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed imaging based object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 12B2 is a block schematic representation of one of the area-typeillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 12A, showing its area illumination array, its area-type imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed imaging based object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 12C1 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach coplanar linear-based illumination and imaging station supported bythe system of FIG. 12A, shown comprising an area-type image acquisitionsubsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip tosupport high-speed digital image capture and (local) processingoperations required for real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 12C2 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach co-extensive area-based illumination and imaging station supportedby the system of FIG. 12A, shown comprising an area-type imageacquisition subsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP)chip to support high-speed digital image capture and (local) processingoperations required for real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 12D1 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 12B1, and 12B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 12E1A and 12E1B;

FIG. 12D2 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 12B1, an 12B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 12E2A and 12E2B;

FIG. 12D3 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 12B1, and 12B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 12E2A and 12E2B;

FIGS. 12E1A and 12E1B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 12D1 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 12B1 through 12C2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 12E2A and 12E2B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 12D2 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 12B1, an 12B2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 12E3A and 12E3B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 12D3 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 12B1, an 12B2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboring stations upon thedetection of an object by one of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations;

FIG. 12F is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 12;

FIG. 12G is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 12F, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 12;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an tenth illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention, shown comprising both ahorizontal housing section with a complex of coplanar linearillumination and imaging stations, and a vertical housing station with apair of laterally-spaced area-type illumination and imaging stations anda coplanar linear illumination and imaging station, for aggressivelysupporting both “pass-through” as well as “presentation” modes of barcode image capture;

FIG. 13A is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 13, wherein the complex of coplanar illuminating and linear imagingstations as substantially shown in FIGS. 6, 6A, 6A′, 7, 8A or 8B aremounted within the horizontal section for projecting a first complex ofcoplanar illumination and imaging planes from its horizontal imagingwindow, and wherein the pair of area-type illumination and imagingstations are mounted in the vertical section for projecting a pair oflaterally-spaced area-type illumination and imaging fields (i.e. zones)into the 3D imaging volume of the system, in combination with thehorizontally-extending coplanar illumination and imaging plane projectedfrom the coplanar illumination and imaging station mounted in thevertical housing section;

FIG. 13B1 is a block schematic representation of one of the area-typeillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 13A, showing its linear (planar) illumination array, itslinear-type image formation and detection subsystem, its image capturingand buffering subsystem, its high-speed imaging based objectmotion/velocity sensing subsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 13B2 is a block schematic representation of one of the area-typeillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 13A, showing its area illumination array, its area-type imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed imaging based object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 13C1 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach coplanar linear-based illumination and imaging station supported bythe system of FIG. 13A, shown comprising a linear-type image acquisitionsubsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip tosupport high-speed digital image capture and (local) processingoperations required for real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 13C2 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach area-based illumination and imaging station supported by the systemof FIG. 13A, shown comprising an area-type image acquisition subsystemand an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to supporthigh-speed digital image capture and (local) processing operationsrequired for real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 13D1 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 13B1, and 13B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 13E1A and 13E1B;

FIG. 13D2 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 13B1, and 13B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 13E2A and 13E2B;

FIG. 13D3 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 13B1, and 13B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 13E2A and 13E2B;

FIGS. 13E1A and 13E1B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 13D1 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 13B1 through 13C2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 13E2A and 13E2B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 13D2 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 13B1, and 13B2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 13E3A and 13E3B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 13D3 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 13B1, and 13B2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboring stations upon thedetection of an object by one of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations;

FIG. 13F is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 13;

FIG. 13G is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 13F, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 13;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an eleventh illustrative embodiment ofthe omni-directional image capturing and processing based bar codesymbol reading system of the present invention, shown comprising ahorizontal housing section with a complex of coplanar linearillumination and imaging stations, and a single area-type illuminationand imaging station, for aggressively supporting both “pass-through” aswell as “presentation” modes of bar code image capture;

FIG. 14A is a block schematic representation of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofFIG. 14, wherein the complex of coplanar laser illuminating and linearimaging stations as substantially shown in FIG. 6, 6A, 6A′, 7, 8A or 8Bare mounted within the horizontal section for projecting a first complexof coplanar illumination and imaging planes from its horizontal imagingwindow, and wherein the area-type illumination and imaging station iscentrally-mounted in the horizontal section for projecting an area-typeillumination and imaging field (i.e. zone) into the 3D imaging volume ofthe system;

FIG. 14B1 is a block schematic representation of one of the area-typeillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 14A, showing its planar illumination array, its linear-type imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed imaging based object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 14B2 is a block schematic representation of one of the area-typeillumination and imaging stations employed in the system embodiment ofFIG. 14A, showing its area illumination array, its area-type imageformation and detection subsystem, its image capturing and bufferingsubsystem, its high-speed imaging based object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem, and its local control subsystem;

FIG. 14C1 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach coplanar linear-based illumination and imaging station supported bythe system of FIG. 14A, shown comprising an area-type image acquisitionsubsystem and an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip tosupport high-speed digital image capture and (local) processingoperations required for real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 14C2 is a block schematic representation of the high-speedimaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystem employed ateach area-based illumination and imaging station supported by the systemof FIG. 14A, shown comprising an area-type image acquisition subsystemand an embedded digital signal processing (DSP) chip to supporthigh-speed digital image capture and (local) processing operationsrequired for real-time object motion/velocity detection;

FIG. 14D1 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 14B1, and 14B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 14E1A and 14E1B;

FIG. 14D2 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 14B1, and 14B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 14E2A and 14E2B;

FIG. 14D3 is a state transition diagram for the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 14B1, and 14B2, running the system control program described inFIGS. 14E2A and 14E2B;

FIGS. 14E1A and 14E1B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 14D1 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 14B1 through 14C2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system;

FIGS. 14E2A and 14E2B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 14D2 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 14B1, and 14B2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations;

FIGS. 14E3A and 14E3B, taken together, set forth a high-level flow chartdescribing the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 14D3 carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 14B1, and 14B2, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, with globallycontrolled over-driving of all-neighboring stations upon the detectionof an object by one of the coplanar illumination and imaging stations;

FIG. 14F is a schematic diagram describing an exemplary embodiment of acomputing and memory architecture platform for implementing theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 14; and

FIG. 14G is a schematic representation of a three-tier softwarearchitecture that can run upon the computing and memory architectureplatform of FIG. 14F, so as to implement the functionalities of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENTINVENTION

Referring to the figures in the accompanying Drawings, the variousillustrative embodiments of the illumination and imaging apparatus andmethodologies of the present invention will be described in greatdetail, wherein like elements will be indicated using like referencenumerals.

Overview of Coplanar Illumination and Imaging System and Methodologiesof the Present Invention

In the illustrative embodiments, the illumination and imaging apparatusof the present invention is realized in the form of an advanced,omni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system 10 that can be deployed in various applicationenvironments, including but not limited to retail point of sale (POS)stations 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 through 5B. As will be described ingreater detail below, in some embodiments of the present invention, thesystem will include only a horizontally-mounted housing, as shown inFIGS. 1 through 7I; in other embodiments, the system will include only avertically-mounted housing; and yet in other embodiments, the system ofthe present invention will include both horizontal and verticallymounted housing sections, connected together in an L-shaped manner, asshown in FIGS. 8A through 14G. All such embodiments of the presentinvention, the system will include at least one imaging window 13, fromwhich a complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes 14 (shown inFIGS. 3G and 3H) are automatically generated from a complex of coplanarillumination and imaging stations 15A through 15F mounted beneath theimaging window of the system, and projected within a 3D imaging volume16 defined relative to the imaging window 17.

As shown in FIG. 2, the system 10 includes a system housing having anoptically transparent (glass) imaging window 13, preferably, covered byan imaging window protection plate 17 which is provided with a patternof apertures 18. These apertures permit the projection of a plurality ofcoplanar illumination and imaging planes from the complex of coplanarillumination and imaging stations 15A through 15F. In the illustrativeembodiments disclosed herein, the system housing has a below counterdepth not to exceed 3.5″ (89 mm) so as to fit within demanding POScountertop environments.

The primary function of each coplanar illumination and imaging stationin the system, indicated by reference numeral 15 and variants thereof inthe figure drawings, is to capture digital linear (1D) or narrow-areaimages along the field of view (FOV) of its coplanar illumination andimaging planes using laser or LED-based illumination, depending on thesystem design. These captured digital images are then buffered anddecode-processed using linear (1D) type image capturing and processingbased bar code reading algorithms, or can be assembled together toreconstruct 2D images for decode-processing using 1D/2D image processingbased bar code reading techniques, as taught in Applicants' U.S. Pat.No. 7,028,899 B2, incorporated herein by reference.

In general, the omni-directional image capturing and processing systemof the present invention 10 comprises a complex of coplanar and/orcoextensive illuminating and imaging stations, constructed using (i)VLD-based and/or LED-based illumination arrays and linear and/area typeimage sensing arrays, and (ii) real-time object motion/velocitydetection technology embedded within the system architecture so as toenable: (1) intelligent automatic illumination control within the 3Dimaging volume of the system; (2) automatic image formation and capturealong each coplanar illumination and imaging plane therewithin; and (3)advanced automatic image processing operations supporting diverse kindsof value-added information-based services delivered in diverse end-userenvironments, including retail POS environments as well as industrialenvironments.

As shown in the system diagram of FIG. 5A, the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing system of the present invention 10 generallycomprises: a complex of coplanar illuminating and linear imagingstations 15, constructed using the illumination arrays and linear imagesensing array technology; an multi-processor multi-channel imageprocessing subsystem 20 for supporting automatic image processing basedbar code symbol reading and optical character recognition (OCR) alongeach coplanar illumination and imaging plane, and corresponding datachannel within the system; a software-based object recognition subsystem21, for use in cooperation with the image processing subsystem 20, andautomatically recognizing objects (such as vegetables and fruit) at theretail POS while being imaged by the system; an electronic weight scalemodule 22 employing one or more load cells 23 positioned centrally belowthe system's structurally rigid platform 24, for bearing and measuringsubstantially all of the weight of objects positioned on the window 13or window protection plate 17, and generating electronic datarepresentative of measured weight of such objects; an input/outputsubsystem 25 for interfacing with the image processing subsystem 20, theelectronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-card reader 27 andElectronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28 (including aSensormatic® EAS tag deactivation block 29 integrated in system housing30, and a Checkpoint® EAS antenna installed within the retail or workenvironment); a wide-area wireless interface (WIFI) 31 including RFtransceiver and antenna 31A for connecting to the TCP/IP layer of theInternet as well as one or more image storing and processing RDBMSservers 33 (which can receive images lifted by system for remoteprocessing by the image storing and processing servers 33); a BlueTooth®RF 2-way communication interface 35 including RF transceivers andantennas 35A for connecting to Blue-tooth® enabled hand-held scanners,imagers, PDAs, portable computers and the like 36, for control,management, application and diagnostic purposes; and a global controlsubsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating and managing) theoperation of the coplanar illumination and imaging stations (i.e.subsystems) 15, electronic weight scale 22, and other subsystems. Asshown, each illumination and imaging subsystem 15A through 15F transmitsframes of digital image data to the image processing subsystem 20, forstate-dependent image processing and the results of the image processingoperations are transmitted to the host system via the input/outputsubsystem 25.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the coplanar or coextensive illumination andimaging subsystem (i.e. station 15), employed in the system of FIG. 5A,comprises: an image formation and detection subsystem 41 having a linearor area type of image sensing array 41 and optics 42 providing a fieldof view (FOV) 43 on the image sensing array; an illumination subsystem44 having one or more LED and/or VLD based illumination arrays 45 forproducing a field of illumination 46 that is substantially coplanar orcoextensive with the FOV 43 of the image sensing array 41; an imagecapturing and buffering subsystem 48 for capturing and buffering imagesfrom the image sensing array 41; an automatic object motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49, either locally or globally deployed with respectto the local control subsystem of the station, for (i) automaticallydetecting the motion and/or velocity of objects moving through at leasta portion of the FOV of the image sensing array 41, and (ii) producingmotion and/or velocity data representative of the measured motion andvelocity of the object; and a local control subsystem 50 for controllingthe operations of the subsystems within the illumination and imagingstations.

In the illustrative embodiments of the present invention disclosedherein and to be described in greater detail hereinbelow, each coplanarillumination and imaging station 15 has an (i) Object Motion andVelocity Detection Mode (State) of operation which supports real-timeautomatic object motion and velocity detection, and also (ii) a Bar CodeReading Mode (State) of operation which supports real-time automaticimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading. In someillustrative embodiments of the present invention, the ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State of operation is supported at therespective coplanar illumination and imaging stations using its localcontrol subsystem and locally provided DSP-based image and/or signalprocessors (i.e. subsystem 49) to compute object motion and velocitydata which is used to produce control data for controlling the linearand/area image sensing arrays employed at the image formation anddetection subsystems.

System embodiments, shown in FIGS. 6 through 6I, and 8A through 8A4,employ imaging-based object motion and velocity sensing technology,whereas other system embodiments shown in FIGS. 6′ through 6I′, and 8Bthrough 8E employ Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based object motion and velocitydetection techniques provided at either a global or local subsystemlevel.

In other illustrative embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 through 7I, theObject Motion/Velocity Detection State of operation is supported at therespective coplanar illumination and imaging stations using globallyprovided image processors to compute object motion and velocity data,which, in turn, is used to produce control data for controlling thelinear and/area image sensing arrays employed at the image formation anddetection (IFD) subsystems of each station in the system.

In yet other embodiments, the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State canbe supported by a combination of both locally and globally providedcomputational resources, in a hybrid sort of an arrangement.

In the preferred illustrative embodiments, the Bar Code Reading State ofoperation of each illumination and imaging subsystem is computationallysupported by a globally provided or common/shared multi-processor imageprocessing subsystem 20. However, in other illustrative embodiments, thebar code reading functions of each station can be implemented locallyusing local image-processors locally accessible by each station.

In the illustrative embodiments of the present invention, the states ofoperation of each station 15 in the system 10 can be automaticallycontrolled using a variety of control methods.

One method, shown in FIGS. 6F1, 6G1G and 6G1B, supports a distributedlocal control process in the stations, wherein at each illumination andimaging station, the local control subsystem controls the function andoperation of the components of the illumination and imaging subsystem,and sends “state” data to the global control subsystem for statemanagement at the level of system operation. Using this method, only theillumination and imaging stations that detect an object in their fieldof view (FOV), as an object is moved through the 3D imaging volume ofthe system, will be automatically locally driven to their imagecapturing and processing “bar code reading state”, whereas all otherstations will remain in their object motion/velocity detection stateuntil they detect the motion of the object passing through their localFOV.

In the case where IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR Pulse-Doppler sensingtechniques are used to implement one or more object motion/velocitydetection subsystems in a given system of the present invention, asshown in FIGS. 6′ through 6I′, this method of system control can providean ultimate level of illumination control, because visible illuminationis only generated and directed onto an object when the object isautomatically detected within the field of view of the station, thuspermitting the object to receive and block incident illumination fromreaching the eyes of the system operator or consumers who may bestanding at the point of sale (POS) station where the system has beeninstalled. In the case where imaging-based techniques are used toimplement one or more object motion/velocity detection subsystems in agiven system of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 6 through 6E4,this method of system control can provide a very high level ofillumination control, provided that low levels of visible illuminationare only generated and directed onto an object during the ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State.

A second possible method supports a distributed local control process inthe stations, with global over-riding of nearest neighboring stations inthe system. As shown in FIGS. 6F2, and 6G2A and 6G2B, each local controlsubsystem controls the function and operation of the components of itsillumination and imaging subsystem, and sends state data to the globalcontrol subsystem for state management at the level of system operation,as well as for over-riding the control functions of local controlsubsystems employed within other illumination and imaging stations inthe system. This method allows the global control subsystem to drive oneor more other nearest-neighboring stations in the system to the bar codereading state upon receiving state data from a local control subsystemthat an object has been detected and its velocity computed/estimated.This way, all neighboring stations near the detected object areautomatically driven to their image capturing and processing “bar codereading state” upon detection by only one station. This method providesa relatively high level of illumination control, because visibleillumination is generated and directed into regions of the 3D imagingvolume where within the object is automatically detected at any instantin time, and not within those regions where the object is not expectedto be given its detection by a particular illumination and imagingstation.

A third possible method also supports distributed local control processin the stations, but with global over-riding of all neighboring stationsin the system. As shown in FIGS. 6F3, and 6G3A and 6G3B, each localcontrol subsystem controls the function and operation of the componentsof its illumination and imaging subsystem, and sends state data to theglobal control subsystem for state management at the level of systemoperation, as well as for over-riding the control functions of localcontrol subsystems employed within all neighboring illumination andimaging stations in the system. This method allows the global controlsubsystem to drive all neighboring stations in the system to the barcode reading state upon receiving state data from a single local controlsubsystem that an object has been detected and its velocitycomputed/estimated. This way, all neighboring stations, not just thenearest ones, are automatically driven to their image capturing andprocessing “bar code reading state” upon detection by only one station.This method provides a relatively high level of illumination control,because visible illumination is generated and directed into regions ofthe 3D imaging volume where within the object is automatically detectedat any instant in time, and not within those regions where the object isnot expected to be given its detection by a particular illumination andimaging station.

Another fourth possible method supports a global control process. Asshown in FIGS. 8F and 8G, the local control subsystem in eachillumination and imaging station controls the operation of thesubcomponents in the station, except for “state control” which ismanaged at the system level by the global control subsystem using “statedata” generated by one or more object motion sensors (e.g. imagingbased, ultra-sonic energy based) provided at the system level within the3D Imaging Volume of the system, in various possible locations. Whenusing this method of global control, one or more Pulse-Doppler (IR)LIDAR subsystems (or even Pulse-Doppler SONAR subsystems) can bedeployed in the system so that real-time object motion and velocitysensing can be achieved within the 3D imaging volume, or across a majorsection or diagonal thereof. Employing this method, captured objectmotion and velocity data can be used to adjust the illumination and/orexposure control parameters therein (e.g. the frequency of the clocksignal used to read out image data from the linear image sensing arraywithin the IFD subsystem in the station).

By continuously collecting or receiving updated motion and velocity dataregarding objects present within 3-D imaging volume of the system, eachillumination and imaging station is able to generate control datarequired to optimally control exposure and/or illumination controloperations at the image sensing array of each illumination and imagingstation employed within the system. Also, the system control processtaught in Applicants' copending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/408,268,incorporated herein by reference, can also be used in combination withthe system of the present invention to form and detect digital imagesduring all modes of system operation using even the lowest expectedlevels of ambient illumination found in typical retail storeenvironments.

In general, each coplanar illumination and imaging station 15 is able toautomatically change its state of operation from Object Motion andVelocity Detection to Bar Code Reading in response to automateddetection of an object with at least a portion of the FOV of itscoplanar illumination and imaging plane. By virtue of this feature ofthe present invention, each coplanar illumination and imaging station inthe system is able to automatically and intelligently direct LED or VLDillumination at an object only when and for so long as the object isdetected within the FOV of its coplanar illumination and imaging plane.This intelligent capacity for local illumination control maximizesillumination being directed towards objects to be imaged, and minimizesillumination being directed towards consumers or the system operatorduring system operation in retail store environments, in particular.

In order to support automated object recognition functions (e.g.vegetable and fruit recognition) at the POS environment, image capturingand processing based object recognition subsystem 21 (i.e. includingObject Libraries etc.) cooperates with the multi-channel imageprocessing subsystem 20 so as to (i) manage and process the multiplechannels of digital image frame data generated by the coplanarillumination and imaging stations 15, (ii) extract object features fromprocessed digital images, and (iii) automatically recognize objects atthe POS station which are represented in the Object Libraries of theobject recognition subsystem 21.

In the illustrative embodiments, the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system module of thepresent invention includes an integrated electronic weigh scale module22, as shown in FIGS. 2A through 2C, which has a thin, tablet-like formfactor for compact mounting in the countertop surface of the POSstation. In addition to a complex of linear (or narrow-area) imagesensing arrays, area-type image sensing arrays may also be used incombination with linear image sensing arrays in constructingomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading systems in accordance with the present invention, as shown inFIGS. 10A through 14G.

While laser illumination (e.g. VLD) sources have many advantages forgenerating coplanar laser illumination planes for use in the imagecapture and processing systems of the present invention (i.e. excellentpower density and focusing characteristics), it is understood thatspeckle-pattern noise reduction measures will need to be practiced inmost applications. In connection therewith, the advanced speckle-patternnoise mitigation methods and apparatus disclosed in Applicants' U.S.Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2, incorporated herein by reference in its entiretyas if fully set forth herein, can be used to substantially reduce theruns power of speckle-noise power in digital imaging systems of thepresent invention employing coherent illumination sources.

In contrast, LED-based illumination sources can also be used as well togenerate planar illumination beams (planes) for use in the image captureand processing systems of the present invention. Lacking high temporaland spatial coherence properties, the primary advantage associated withLED technology is lack of speckle-pattern noise. Some significantdisadvantages with LED technology are the inherent limitations infocusing characteristics, and power density generation. Many of theselimitations can be addressed in conventional ways to make LED arrayssuitable for use in the digital image capture and processing systems andmethods of the present invention.

In some embodiments, it may be desired to use both VLD and LED basedsources of illumination to provide hybrid forms of illumination withinthe imaging-based bar code symbol reading systems of the presentinvention.

Having provided an overview on the system and methods of the presentinvention, it is appropriate at this juncture to now describe thevarious illustrative embodiments thereof in greater technical detail.

Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional Image Capturing andProcessing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of the Present InventionEmploying Plurality of Object Motion/Velocity Detectors in System

In FIGS. 2 through 5B, an illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system of the present invention 10 is shown integrated withelectronic weigh scale 22, having a thin, tablet-like form factor forcompact mounting in the countertop surface 2 of the POS station 1. Asshown in FIG. 2A, imaging window protection plate 17 has a central Xaperture pattern and a pair of parallel apertures aligned parallel tothe sides of the system. These apertures permit the projection of aplurality of coplanar illumination and imaging planes 55 from a complexof coplanar illumination and imaging stations 15A through 15F mountedbeneath the imaging window of the system. The primary functions of eachcoplanar laser illumination and imaging station 15 is to generate andproject coplanar illumination and imaging planes 55 through the imagingwindow 13 and apertures 18 into the 3D imaging volume 16 of the system,and capture digital linear (1D) digital images along the field of view(FOV) of these illumination and linear imaging planes. These capturedlinear images are then buffered and decode-processed using linear (1D)type image capturing and processing based bar code reading algorithms,or can be assembled together to reconstruct 2D images fordecode-processing using 1D/2D image processing based bar code readingtechniques.

In FIG. 2A, the apertured imaging window protection plate 17 is showneasily removed from over the glass imaging window 13 of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system, during routine glass imaging window cleaning operations.

As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the image capturing and processing module56 (having a thin tablet form factor and including nearly all subsystemsdepicted in FIG. 5A, except scale module 22) is shown lifted off andaway from the electronic weigh scale module 22 during normal maintenanceoperations. In this configuration, the centrally located load cell 23 isrevealed along with the touch-fit electrical interconnector arrangement57 of the present invention that automatically establishes allelectrical interconnections between the two modules when the imagecapturing and processing module 56 is placed onto the electronic weighscale module 22, and its electronic load cell 23 bears substantially allof the weight of the image capturing and processing module 5.

In FIG. 2D, the load cell 23 of the electronic weigh scale module 22 isshown to directly bear all of the weight of the image capturing andprocessing module 56 (and any produce articles placed thereon duringweighing operations), while the touch-fit electrical interconnectorarrangement of the present invention 57 automatically establishes allelectrical interconnections between the two modules.

In FIGS. 3A through 3F, the spatial arrangement of coplanar illuminationand imaging planes are described in great detail for the illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. The spatial arrangement and layoutof the coplanar illumination and imaging stations within the systemhousing is described in FIGS. 4A through 5B. As shown, all coplanarillumination and imaging stations, including their optical andelectronic-optical components, are mounted on a single printed-circuit(PC) board 58, mounted in the bottom portion of the system housing, andfunctions as an optical bench for the mounting of image sensing arrays,VLDs or LEDs, beam shaping optics, field of view (FOV) folding mirrorsand the like, as indicated in FIGS. 4A through 5B.

The First Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageProcessing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of the Present InventionEmploying Plurality of Imaging-Based Object Motion/Velocity Detectors InSystem

As shown in FIG. 6, each coplanar illumination and imaging planeprojected within the 3D imaging volume of the system of the firstillustrative embodiment has at least one spatially-co-extensiveimaging-based object motion and velocity “field of view”, that issupported by an imaging-based object motion/velocity detection subsystemin the station generating the coplanar illumination and imaging plane.The field of view of the imaging-based motion/velocity detectionsubsystem is supported during the Object Motion/Velocity Detection Modeof the station, and can be illuminated by ambient illumination, orillumination from VLDs and/or LEDs of the motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 of the image formation and detection subsystem 40. Thefunction of the object motion/velocity detection field is to enableautomatic control of illumination and exposure during the Bar CodeReading Modes of the stations in the system.

In FIG. 6B, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 2is shown comprising: a complex of coplanar illuminating and linearimaging stations 15A′ through 15F′, constructed using linear theillumination arrays and image sensing arrays shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B; amulti-processor (multi-channel) image processing subsystem 20 forsupporting automatic image processing based bar code symbol reading andoptical character recognition (OCR) along each coplanar illumination andimaging plane within the system, which corresponds to a single channelof the subsystem 20; a software-based object recognition subsystem 21,for use in cooperation with the image processing subsystem 20, andautomatically recognizing objects (such as vegetables and fruit) at theretail POS while being imaged by the system; an electronic weight scale22 employing one or more load cells 23 positioned centrally below thesystem housing, for rapidly measuring the weight of objects positionedon the window aperture of the system for weighing, and generatingelectronic data representative of measured weight of the object; aninput/output subsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processingsubsystem, the electronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-cardreader 27 and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28(including EAS tag deactivation block integrated in system housing, anda Checkpoint® EAS antenna); a wide-area wireless interface (WIFI) 31including RF transceiver and antenna 31A for connecting to the TCP/IPlayer of the Internet as well as one or more image storing andprocessing RDBMS servers 33 (which can receive images lifted by systemfor remote processing by the image storing and processing servers 33); aBlueTooth® RF 2-way communication interface 35 including RF transceiversand antennas 35A for connecting to Blue-tooth® enabled hand-heldscanners, imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and the like, forcontrol, management, application and diagnostic purposes; and a globalcontrol subsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating and managing)the operation of the coplanar illumination and imaging stations (i.e.subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and other subsystems. As shown,each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem 15′ transmits frames ofimage data to the image processing subsystem 25, for state-dependentimage processing and the results of the image processing operations aretransmitted to the host system via the input/output subsystem 20. InFIG. 6B, the bar code symbol reading module employed along each channelof the multi-channel image processing subsystem 20 can be realized usingSwiftDecoder® Image Processing Based Bar Code Reading Software fromOmniplanar Corporation, New Jersey, or any other suitable imageprocessing based bar code reading software.

As shown in FIG. 6A, an array of VLDs or LEDS can be focused with beamshaping and collimating optics so as to concentrate their output powerinto a thin illumination plane which spatially coincides exactly withthe field of view of the imaging optics of the coplanar illumination andimaging station, so very little light energy is wasted.

Each substantially planar illumination beam (PLIB) can be generated froma planar illumination array (PLIA) formed by a plurality of planarillumination modules (PLIMs) using either VLDs or LEDs and associatedbeam shaping and focusing optics, taught in greater technical detail inApplicants U.S. patent application Nos.: Ser. No. 10/299,098 filed Nov.15, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,184, and Ser. No. 10/989,220 filedNov. 15, 2004, each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Preferably, each planar illumination beam (PLIB) generated from a PLIMin a PLIA is focused so that the minimum width thereof occurs at a pointor plane which is the farthest object (or working) distance at which thesystem is designed to capture images within the 3D imaging volume of thesystem, although this principle can be relaxed in particularapplications to achieve other design objectives.

As shown in FIGS. 6B, 6C, 6D and 6E1, each coplanar illumination andimaging station 15′ employed in the system of FIGS. 2 and 6B comprises:an illumination subsystem 44′ including a linear array of VLDs or LEDs45 and associated focusing and cylindrical beam shaping optics (i.e.planar illumination arrays PLIAs), for generating a planar illuminationbeam (PLIB) 61 from the station; a linear image formation and detection(IFD) subsystem 40 having a camera controller interface (e.g. realizedas a field programmable gate array or FPGA) for interfacing with thelocal control subsystem 50, and a high-resolution linear image sensingarray 41 with optics 42 providing a field of view (FOV) 43 on the imagesensing array that is coplanar with the PLIB produced by the linearillumination array 45, so as to form and detect linear digital images ofobjects within the FOV of the system; a local control subsystem 50 forlocally controlling the operation of subcomponents within the station,in response to control signals generated by global control subsystem 37maintained at the system level, shown in FIG. 6B; an image capturing andbuffering subsystem 48 for capturing linear digital images with thelinear image sensing array 41 and buffering these linear images inbuffer memory so as to form 2D digital images for transfer toimage-processing subsystem 20 maintained at the system level, as shownin FIG. 6B, and subsequent image processing according to bar code symboldecoding algorithms, OCR algorithms, and/or object recognitionprocesses; a high-speed image capturing and processing basedmotion/velocity sensing subsystem 49′ for motion and velocity data tothe local control subsystem 50 for processing and automatic generationof control data that is used to control the illumination and exposureparameters of the linear image formation and detection system within thestation. Details regarding the design and construction of planarillumination and imaging module (PLIIMs) can be found in Applicants'U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2, incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIGS. 6D, 6E1, the high-speed image capturing and processingbased motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49′ comprises: an area-typeimage acquisition subsystem 65 with an area-type image sensing array andoptics shown in FIG. 6D for generating a field of view (FOV) that ispreferably spatially coextensive with the longer dimensions of the FOV43 of the linear image formation and detection subsystem 40 as shown inFIG. 6B; an area-type (IR) illumination array 66 for illuminating theFOV of motion/velocity detection subsystem 49′; and an embedded digitalsignal processing (DSP) image processor 67, for automatically processing2D images captured by the digital image acquisition subsystem. The DSPimage processor 67 processes captured images so as to automaticallyabstract, in real-time, motion and velocity data from the processedimages and provide this motion and velocity data to the local controlsubsystem 50 for the processing and automatic generation of control datathat is used to control the illumination and exposure parameters of thelinear image formation and detection system within the station.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 through 6C, each imagecapturing and processing based motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49′continuously and automatically computes the motion and velocity ofobjects passing through the planar FOV of the station, and uses thisdata to generate control signals that set the frequency of the clocksignal used to read out data from the linear image sensing array 41employed in the linear image formation and detection subsystem 40 of thesystem. In FIGS. 6E2 and 6E3, two versions of the image capturing andprocessing based motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49′ of FIG. 6E1 areschematically illustrated, in the context of (i) capturing images ofobjects passing through the FOV of the image formation and detectionsubsystem 40, (ii) generating motion and velocity data regarding theobjects, and (iii) controlling the frequency of the clock signal used toread out data from the linear image sensing array 41 employed in thelinear image formation and detection subsystem 40 of the system.

In FIG. 6E3, the image capturing and processing based motion/velocitysensing subsystem 49′ employs an area-type image sensing array 69 tocapture images of objects passing through the FOV of the linear imageformation and detection subsystem 40. Then, DSP-based image processor 67computes motion and velocity data regarding object(s) within the FOV ofthe linear image formation and detection subsystem 40, and this motionand velocity data is then provided to the local subsystem controller 50so that it can generate (i.e. compute) control data for controlling thefrequency of the clock signal used in reading data out of the linearimage sensing array of the image formation and detection subsystem. Analgorithm for computing such control data, based on sensed 2D images ofobjects moving through (at least a portion of) the FOV of the linearimage formation and detection subsystem 40, will now be described indetail below with reference to the process diagram described in FIG.6E2, and the schematic diagram set forth in FIG. 6E3.

As indicated at Blocks A, B and C in FIG. 6E2, object motion detected onthe linear sensing array of the IFD subsystem (dX, dY) is calculatedfrom the motion detected by images captured by the motion/velocitysensing subsystem (dX′, dY′) using the equations (1) and (2) as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{dX} = {{F\left( {{dX}^{\prime},\theta_{p},n_{1},p_{1},n_{2},p_{2}} \right)} = {\frac{n_{2}p_{2}}{n_{1}p_{1}}\left( {{{dX}^{\prime}\cos\;\theta_{p}} - {{dY}^{\prime}\sin\;\theta_{p}}} \right)}}} & (1) \\{{dY} = {{G\left( {{dY}^{\prime},\theta_{p},n_{1},p_{1},n_{2},p_{2}} \right)} = {\frac{n_{2}p_{2}}{n_{1}p_{1}}\left( {{{dX}^{\prime}\sin\;\theta_{p}} + {{dY}^{\prime}\cos\;\theta_{p}}} \right)}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$where

θ_(p) is the projection angle, which is the angle between themotion/velocity detection subsystem 49′ (dX′, dY′) and the linear imagesensing array 41 in the IFD subsystem 40 (dX,dY),

n₁ is the pixel number of the image sensing array in the motion/velocitydetection subsystem,

p₁ is the size of image sensing element 69 in the motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49′ in FIG. 6D,

n₂ is the pixel number of the linear image sensing array 41 employed inthe image formation and detection subsystem 40, and

p₂ is the pixel size of the linear image sensing array 41 employed inthe image formation and detection (IFD) subsystem 40.

As indicated at Block D in FIG. 6E2, the velocity of the object on thelinear sensing array 41 of the IFD subsystem is calculated usingEquations Nos. (3), (4), (5) below:

$\begin{matrix}{V_{x} = \frac{\mathbb{d}X}{\mathbb{d}t^{\prime}}} & (3) \\{V_{y} = \frac{\mathbb{d}Y}{\mathbb{d}t^{\prime}}} & (4) \\{\theta = {\arctan\left( \frac{V_{y}}{V_{x}} \right)}} & (5)\end{matrix}$where dt′ is the timing period from the motion/velocity sensingsubsystem illustrated in FIG. 6D.

As indicated at Block E in FIG. 6E2, the frequency of the clock signal fin the IFD subsystem is computed using a frequency control algorithmwhich ideally is expressed as a function of the following systemparameters:f=H(p ₂ ,V _(x) ,V _(y) ,θ,dt′)

While there are various possible ways of formulating the frequencycontrol algorithm, based on experiment and/or theoretic study, thesimplest version of the algorithm is given expression No. (6) below:

$\begin{matrix}{f = \frac{V_{y}}{{kp}_{2}}} & (6)\end{matrix}$where k is a constant decided by the optical system providing the FOV ofthe image capturing and processing based motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49′, illustrated in FIG. 6D.

As indicated at Block F, the frequency of the clock signal used to clockdata out from the linear image sensing array in the IFD subsystem isthen adjusted using the computed clock frequency f.

In FIG. 6E4, the image capturing and processing based motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49′ employs a linear-type image sensing array 70 tocapture images of objects passing through the FOV of the linear imageformation and detection subsystem. Then, DSP-based image processor 67computes motion and velocity data regarding object(s) within the FOV ofthe linear image formation and detection (IFD) subsystem 40, and thismotion and velocity data is then provided to the local subsystemcontroller 50 so that it can generate (i.e. compute) control data forcontrolling the frequency of the clock signal used in reading data outof the linear image sensing array of the image formation and detectionsubsystem. The frequency control algorithm described above can be usedto control the clock frequency of the linear image sensing array 41employed in the IFD subsystem 40 of the system.

While the system embodiments of FIGS. 6E2, 6E3 and 6E4 illustratecontrolling the clock frequency in the image formation and detectionsubsystem 40, it is understood that other camera parameters, relating toexposure and/or illumination, can be controlled in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

When any one of the coplanar illumination and imaging stations isconfigured in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, there is theneed to illuminate to control the illumination that is incident upon theimage sensing array employed within the object motion/velocity detectorsubsystem 49′ shown in FIGS. 6C and 6D. In general, there are severalways to illuminate objects during the object motion/detection mode (e.g.ambient, laser, LED-based), and various illumination parameters can becontrolled while illuminating objects being imaged by the image sensingarray 41 of the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49′ employedat any station in the system. Also, given a particular kind ofillumination employed during the Object Motion/Velocity Detection Mode,there are various illumination parameters that can be controlled,namely: illumination intensity (e.g. low-power, half-power, full power);illumination beam width (e.g. narrow beam width, wide beam width); andillumination beam thickness (e.g. small beam thickness, large beamthickness). Based on these illumination control parameters, severaldifferent illumination control methods can be implemented at eachillumination and imaging station in the system.

For example, methods based illumination source classification includethe following: (1) Ambient Control Method, wherein ambient lighting isused to illuminate the FOV of the image sensing array 69, 70 in theobject motion/velocity detecting subsystem 49′ subsystem/system duringthe object motion/velocity detection mode and bar code symbol readingmode of subsystem operation; (2) Low-Power Illumination Method, whereinillumination produced from the LED or VLD array of a station is operatedat half or fractional power, and directed into the field of view (FOV)of the image sensing array employed in the object motion/velocitydetecting subsystem 49′; and (3) Full-Power Illumination Method, whereinillumination is produced by the LED or VLD array of the station—operatedat half or fractional power—and directed in the field of view (FOV) ofthe image sensing array employed in the object motion/velocity detectingsubsystem 49′.

Methods based on illumination beam thickness classification include thefollowing: (1) Illumination Beam Width Method, wherein the thickness ofthe planar illumination beam (PLIB) is increased so as to illuminatemore pixels (e.g. 3 or more pixels) on the image sensing array of theobject motion/velocity detecting subsystem 49′ when the station isoperated in Object Motion/Velocity Detection Mode. This method will beuseful when illuminating the image sensing array of the objectmotion/velocity detecting subsystem 49′ using, during the Bar CodeReading Mode, planar laser or LED based illumination having a narrowbeam thickness, insufficient to illuminate a sufficient number of pixelrows in the image sensing array of the motion/velocity detector 49.

Three different methods are disclosed below for controlling theoperations of the image capture and processing system of the presentinvention. These methods will be described below.

The first method, described in FIGS. 6F1 and 6G1A and 6G1B, can bethought of as a Distributed Local Control Method, wherein at eachillumination and imaging station, the local control subsystem 50controls the function and operation of the components of theillumination and imaging subsystem 50, and sends state data to theglobal control subsystem for “state management” at the level of systemoperation, but not “state control”, which is controlled by the localcontrol system. As used herein, the term “state management” shall meanto keep track of or monitoring the state of a particular station,whereas the term “state control” shall mean to determine or dictate theoperational state of a particular station at an moment in time.

The second control method described in FIGS. 6F2, 6G2A and 6G2B can bethought of as a Distributed Local Control Method with GlobalNearest-Neighboring Station Over-Ride Control, wherein the local controlsubsystems 50 start out controlling their local functions and operationsuntil an object is detected, whereupon the local control subsystemautomatically sends state data to the global control subsystem for statemanagement at the level of system operation, as well as for over-ridingthe control functions of local control subsystems employed within otherillumination and imaging stations in the system. This method allows theglobal control subsystem 37 to drive one or more other stations in thesystem to the bar code reading state upon receiving state data when alocal control subsystem has detected an object and its motion andvelocity are computed/estimated. This global control subsystem 37 candrive “nearest neighboring” stations in the system to their bar codereading state (i.e. image capturing and decode-processing) as in thecase of FIGS. 6F3, 6G3A and 6G3B.

The third control method described in FIGS. 6F3, 6G3A and 6G3B can bethought of as a Distributed Local Control Method with Global AllNeighboring Station Over-Ride Control, wherein the local controlsubsystems start out controlling their local functions and operationsuntil an object is detected, whereupon the local control subsystem 50automatically sends state data to the global control subsystem 37 forstate management at the level of system operation, as well as forover-riding the control functions of local control subsystems employedwithin other illumination and imaging stations in the system. Thismethod allows the global control subsystem 37 to drive one or more otherstations in the system to the bar code reading state upon receivingstate data when a local control subsystem has detected an object and itsmotion and velocity are computed/estimated. This global controlsubsystem can drive “all neighboring” stations in the system to theirbar code reading state (i.e. image capturing and decode-processing) asin the case of FIGS. 6F3, 6G3A and 6G3B.

The fourth system control method, described in FIGS. 8F and 8G, can bethrough of as a Global Control Method, wherein the local controlsubsystem in each illumination and imaging station controls theoperation of the subcomponents in the station, except for “statecontrol” which is managed at the system level by the global controlsubsystem 37 using “state data” generated by one or more object motionsensors (e.g. imaging based, ultra-sonic energy based) provided at thesystem level within the 3D imaging volume of the system, in variouspossible locations. When using this method of control, it might bedesirable to deploy imaging-based object motion and velocity sensors asshown in FIG. 8A, or IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR sensors as shown in FIG. 8B,or even ultrasonic Pulse-Doppler SONAR sensors as applications mayrequire, so that real-time object motion and velocity sensing can beachieved within the entire 3D imaging volume, or across one or moresections or diagonals thereof. With such provisions, object motion andvelocity data can be captured and distributed (in real-time) to eachillumination and imaging station (e.g. via the global control subsystem37) for purposes of adjusting the illumination and/or exposure controlparameters therein (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used to readout image data from the linear image sensing array within the IFDsubsystem in each station) during system operation.

Having described four primary classes of control methods that might beused to control the operations of systems of the present invention, itis appropriate at this juncture to describe the first three systemcontrol methods in greater technical detail, with reference tocorresponding state transition diagrams and system flow control charts.

As shown in FIG. 6F1, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 6 and 6C, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 6G1A and 6G1B, withlocally-controlled imaging-based object motion/velocity detectionprovided in each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of thesystem, as illustrated in FIG. 6. The flow chart of FIGS. 6G1A and 6G1Bdescribes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 6F1, which is carried outwithin the omni-directional image capturing and processing based barcode symbol reading system described in FIGS. 6 and 6C.

At Step A in FIG. 6G1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System (“System”)10A, and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbol thereby, theglobal control subsystem initializes the system by preconfiguring eachCoplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employed therein in its ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 6G1A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station 15′ currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49′continuously captures linear (1D) images along the Imaging-Based ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection Field of the station (coincident with the FOVof the IFD subsystem) and automatically processes these captured imagesso as to automatically detect the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49′ provided at each coplanar illumination andimaging station can capture 2D images of objects within the 3D imagingvolume, using ambient lighting, or using lighting generated by the (VLDand/or LED) illumination arrays employed in either the objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem 49′ or within the illuminationsubsystem itself. In the event illumination sources within theillumination subsystem are employed, then these illumination arrays aredriven at the lowest possible power level so as to not produce effectsthat are visible or conspicuous to consumers who might be standing atthe POS, near the system of the present invention.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 6G1A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station 15′ that automatically detects an object moving throughor within its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the coplanarillumination and imaging station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitydetection subsystem can be permitted to simultaneously collect (duringthe bar code reading state) updated object motion and sensing data fordynamically controlling the exposure and illumination parameters of theIFD Subsystem 40.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 6G1B, from each coplanar illumination andimaging station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 6G1B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the coplanar illumination andimaging stations in the system, the image processing subsystem 20automatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures each coplanarillumination and imaging station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumedetection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imaging volume ofthe system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 6G1B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem 50 reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, tocollect and update object motion and velocity data (and derive controldata for exposure and/or illumination control).

As shown in FIG. 6F2, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 6 and 6C, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 6G2A and 6G2B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations. Theflow chart of FIGS. 6G2A and 6G2B describes the operations (i.e. tasks)that are automatically performed during the state control process ofFIG. 6F2, which is carried out within the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 6 and 6C.

At Step A in FIG. 6G2A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 6G2A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49′continuously captures linear (1D) images along the Imaging-Based ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection Field of the station (coincident with the FOVof the IFD subsystem) and automatically processes these captured imagesso as to automatically detect the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49′ can capture 2D images of objects within the 3Dimaging volume, using ambient lighting, or using lighting generated bythe (VLD and/or LED) illumination arrays, employed in either the objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem 49′ or within the illuminationsubsystem. In the event illumination sources within the illuminationsubsystem are employed, then these illumination arrays are driven at thelowest possible power level so as to not produce effects that arevisible or conspicuous to consumers who might be standing at the POS,near the system of the present invention.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 6G2A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State), and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystemfor automatically over-driving “nearest neighboring” coplanarillumination and imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 at the station are preferablydriven at full power. Optionally, in some applications, the objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem 49′ can be permitted tosimultaneously collect (during the Bar Code Reading State) updatedobject motion and velocity data, for use in dynamically controlling theexposure and illumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 6G2B, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and capturesand buffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed2D images to the global multi-processor image processing subsystem 20(or a local image processing subsystem in some embodiments) forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 6G2B, upon a 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the system, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem 37 then reconfigures eachCoplanar Illumination and Imaging Station back into its ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State (and returns to Step B) so that thesystem can resume automatic detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 6G2B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem 50 reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control), and then returns to Step B.

As shown in FIG. 6F3, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 2, 6 and 6C, running the systemcontrol program described in flow charts of FIGS. 6G3A and 6G3B,employing locally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in eachcoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboring stations. The flowchart of FIGS. 6G3A and 6G3B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) thatare automatically performed during the state control process of FIG.6F3, which is carried out within the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 6and 6C.

At Step A in FIG. 6G3A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 6G3A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49′continuously captures linear (1D) images along the Imaging-Based ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection Field of the station (coincident with the FOVof the IFD subsystem) and automatically processes these captured imagesso as to automatically detect the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49′ can capture 2D images of objects within the 3Dimaging volume, using ambient lighting or light generated by the (VLDand/or LED) illumination arrays employed in either the objectmotion/velocity sensing subsystem or within the illumination subsystem.In the event illumination sources within the illumination subsystem areemployed, then these illumination arrays are preferably driven at thelowest possible power level so as to not produce effects that arevisible or conspicuous to consumers who might be standing at the POS,near the system of the present invention.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 6G2A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State), and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystemfor automatically over-driving “all neighboring” coplanar illuminationand imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem can bepermitted to simultaneously collect (during the Bar Code Reading State)updated object motion and sensing data for dynamically controlling theexposure and illumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 6G3B, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 6G3B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem 37 reconfigures eachCoplanar Illumination and Imaging Station back into its ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State and returns to Step B, so that thesystem can resume automatic detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 6G3B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem 50 reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, tocollect and update object motion and velocity data (and derive controldata for exposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 6H describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 6 and 6C. As shown, this hardware computing andmemory platform can be realized on a single PC board 58, along with theelectro-optics associated with the illumination and imaging stations andother subsystems described in FIGS. 6G1A through 6G3B, and thereforefunctioning as an optical bench as well. As shown, the hardware platformcomprises: at least one, but preferably multiple high speed dual coremicroprocessors, to provide a multi-processor architecture having highbandwidth video-interfaces; an FPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) for managing thedigital image streams supplied by the plurality of digital imagecapturing and buffering channels, each of which is driven by a coplanarillumination and imaging station (e.g. linear CCD or CMOS image sensingarray, image formation optics, etc) in the system; a robust multi-tiermemory architecture including DRAM, Flash Memory, SRAM and even ahard-drive persistence memory in some applications; arrays of VLDsand/or LEDs, associated beam shaping and collimating/focusing optics;and analog and digital circuitry for realizing the illuminationsubsystem; interface board with microprocessors and connectors; powersupply and distribution circuitry; as well as circuitry for implementingthe others subsystems employed in the system.

FIG. 6I describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 6H, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIGS. 6and 6C. Details regarding the foundations of this three-tierarchitecture can be found in Applicants' copending U.S. Ser. No.11/408,268, incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the Main Taskand Subordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the ApplicationLayer would carry out the system and subsystem functionalities describedin the State Control Processes of FIGS. 6G1A through 6G3B, and StateTransition Diagrams. In an illustrative embodiment, the Main Task wouldcarry out the basic object motion and velocity detection operationssupported within the 3D imaging volume by each of the coplanarillumination and imaging subsystems, and Subordinate Task would becalled to carry out the bar code reading operations the informationprocessing channels of those stations that are configured in their BarCode Reading State (Mode) of operation. Details of task development willreadily occur to those skilled in the art having the benefit of thepresent invention disclosure.

The Second Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention, Employing IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR Based ObjectMotion/Velocity Detectors in Each Coplanar Illumination and ImagingSubsystem Thereof

In FIG. 6′, a second alternative embodiment of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systempresent invention is shown removed from its POS environment, with onecoplanar illumination and imaging plane being projected through anaperture in its imaging window protection plate. In this illustrativeembodiment, each coplanar illumination and imaging plane projectedthrough the 3D imaging volume of the system has a plurality of IRPulse-Doppler LIDAR based object motion/velocity sensing beams (A, B, C)that are spatially coincident therewith, for sensing in real-time themotion and velocity of objects passing therethrough during systemoperation. As shown in greater detail, the of IR Pulse-Doppler LIDARbased object motion/velocity sensing beams (A, B, C) are generated froma plurality of IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR motion/velocity detectionsubsystems, which can be realized using a plurality of IR Pulse-DopplerLIDAR motion/velocity sensing chips mounted along the illumination arrayprovided at each coplanar illumination and imaging station in thesystem. In FIG. 6A′, three such IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR motion/velocitysensing chips (e.g. Philips PLN2020 Twin-Eye 850 nm IR Laser-BasedMotion/Velocity Sensor System in a Package (SIP)) are employed in eachstation in the system to achieve coverage of over substantially theentire field of view of the station. Details regarding this subsystemare described in FIGS. 6D1′, 6D2′and 6E′and corresponding portions ofthe present Patent Specification.

As shown in FIG. 6B′, the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing based bar code symbol reading system 10B comprises: complexof coplanar illuminating and linear imaging stations 15A″ through 15F″constructed using the illumination arrays and linear (CCD or CMOS based)image sensing arrays shown in FIG. 6A′; a multi-processor imageprocessing subsystem 20 for supporting automatic image processing basedbar code symbol reading and optical character recognition (OCR) alongeach coplanar illumination and imaging plane within the system; asoftware-based object recognition subsystem 21, for use in cooperationwith the image processing subsystem 20, and automatically recognizingobjects (such as vegetables and fruit) at the retail POS while beingimaged by the system; an electronic weight scale 22 employing one ormore load cells 23 positioned centrally below the system housing, forrapidly measuring the weight of objects positioned on the windowaperture of the system for weighing, and generating electronic datarepresentative of measured weight of the object; an input/outputsubsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processing subsystem, theelectronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-card reader 27 andElectronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28 (including aSensormatic® EAS tag deactivation block integrated in system housing,and a Checkpoint® EAS antenna); a wide-area wireless interface (WIFI) 31including RF transceiver and antenna 31A for connecting to the TCP/IPlayer of the Internet as well as one or more image storing andprocessing RDBMS servers 33 (which can receive images lifted by systemfor remote processing by the image storing and processing servers 33); aBlueTooth® RF 2-way communication interface 35 including RF transceiversand antennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth® enabled hand-heldscanners, imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and the like, forcontrol, management, application and diagnostic purposes; and a globalcontrol subsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating and managing)the operation of the coplanar illumination and imaging stations (i.e.subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and other subsystems. As shown,each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem 15″ transmits frames ofimage data to the image processing subsystem 25, for state-dependentimage processing and the results of the image processing operations aretransmitted to the host system via the input/output subsystem 20. Thebar code symbol reading module employed along each channel of themulti-channel image processing subsystem 20 can be realized usingSwiftDecoder® Image Processing Based Bar Code Reading Software fromOmniplanar Corporation, West Deptford, N.J., or any other suitable imageprocessing based bar code reading software.

As shown in FIG. 6C′, each coplanar illumination and imaging station 15″employed in the system embodiment of FIG. 6B′, comprises: a planarillumination array (PLIA) 44; a linear image formation and detectionsubsystem 40; an image capturing and buffering subsystem 48, at leastone high-speed IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based object motion/velocitydetecting (i.e. sensing) subsystem 49′; and a local control subsystem50.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 6′, each IR Pulse-Doppler LIDARbased object motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49″ can be realized usinga high-speed IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based motion/velocity sensor (e.g.Philips PLN2020 Twin-Eye 850 nm IR Laser-Based Motion/Velocity Sensor(SIP). The purpose of this subsystem 49″ is to (i) detect whether or notan object is present within the FOV at any instant in time, and (ii)detect the motion and velocity of objects passing through the FOV of thelinear image sensing array, for ultimately controlling camera parametersin real-time, including the clock frequency of the linear image sensingarray.

As shown in FIG. 6D1′, the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem 49″ comprises: an IR Pulse-DopplerLIDAR transceiver 80 for transmitting IR LIDAR signals towards an objectin the field of the view of the station, and receiving IR signals thatscatter at the surface of the object; and an embedded DSP processor(i.e. ASIC) for processing received IR Pulse-Doppler signals (on thetime and/or frequency domain), so as to abstract motion and velocitydata relating to the target object. IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR transceiver80 provides generated motion and velocity data to the local controlsubsystem 50, for processing to produce control data that is used tocontrol aspects of operation the illumination subsystem 44, and/or thelinear image formation and detection subsystem 40.

As shown in FIG. 6D2′, the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem 49″ comprises: a pair of IR (.e. 850nm wavelength) laser diodes 92A and 92B; a pair of laser diodedrive/detection circuits 93A and 93B for driving laser diodes 92A and92B, respectively; optics 94 for laser shaping and collimating a pair ofpulse-modulated IR laser beam signals 95A and 95B towards a target 96 ina reference plane within the 3D imaging volume of the system, so as toperform velocity measurements over a distance of a meter or more withinthe 3D imaging volume; an integrator triangle modulation source 97 forsupplying triangle modulation signals to the laser drives circuits; anddigital signal processing (DSP) processor 81, realized as an ASIC, forprocessing the output from the laser drive/detection circuits 93A and93B. The Philips PLN2020 Twin-Eye 850 nm IR Laser-Based Motion/VelocitySensor SIP can meet the requirements of the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR basedobject motion/velocity detection subsystem 49″

By utilizing interferometry techniques normally applied inhigh-performance professional applications, the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDARMotion/Velocity Sensor SIP leverages the latest developments insolid-state lasers, digital signal processing and system in a package(SIP) technology to achieve unparalleled resolution and accuracy forposition/velocity sensing in consumer-product applications. Preferably,the IR Laser-Based Motion/Velocity Sensor SIP is capable of (i)detecting the movement of any surface that scatters infrared (IR)radiation, (ii) resolving these movements down to a level of less than 1μm, and (iii) tracking object velocities of several meters per secondand accelerations up to 10 g.

During operation of sensor 49″, the pair of solid-state lasers 92A and92B generate a pair of pulsed (850-nm wavelength) infrared laser beams95A and 95B that are collimated by optics 94 and projected into the 3-Dimaging volume of the system for incidence with the surface of targetobjects passing therethrough, whose position/velocity is to beautomatically measured in for real-time illumination and/or exposurecontrol purposes. The IR laser light produced from each laser beam isscattered by the target surface, resulting in some of the lightreturning to the sensor and re-entering the laser source, where itoptically mixes with the light being generated by the laser, along itschannel (L or R). Motion of the target object towards or away from thelaser source causes a Doppler shift in the frequency of the returninglaser light. This Doppler shift is proportional to the speed of objectmotion. Optical mixing between the returning IR light and that beinggenerated in the laser source therefore results in fluctuations in thelaser power at a frequency proportional to the speed of the target 96.These power fluctuations are sensed by a photo-diode that is opticallycoupled to the laser diode.

While such self-mixing in IR laser diodes 92A and 92B allows measurementof the Doppler shift frequency and subsequent calculation of the targetsurface velocity along different channels (L,R), it does not yieldinformation about whether the target object is moving towards or awayfrom the IR laser source 97. To identify object direction, the laserpower is modulated with a low-frequency triangular waveform from source97 resulting in corresponding changes in laser temperature andconsequent modulation of the laser frequency. This frequency modulationof the emitted laser light simulates small forward and backwardmovements, respectively, on the rising and falling slope of the outputlaser power. This decreases the observed Doppler shift when thesimulated source movement and the target surface movement are in thesame direction, and increases the observed Doppler shift when thesimulated movement and target surface movement are in oppositedirections. Comparison of the measured Doppler shift on the rising andfalling slopes of the triangular modulation waveform therefore revealsthe direction of target surface motion.

As shown in FIG. 6D2, the output signals from the photo-diodes(integrated into laser diodes 92A and 92B) that sense fluctuations inthe laser power is processed in a software programmableApplication-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), i.e. DSP processor 81.This ASIC conditions the signal, digitizes it and then analyzes it usingadvanced digital signal processing techniques. These include digitalfilters 98 that extract the signal from background noise as well asFourier Transforms that analyze the signal on the frequency domain toobtain the Doppler shift frequencies. Based on these Doppler shiftfrequencies, the ASIC 81 then computes the velocity of the target objectalong the axis of the IR laser beam. By combining two laser sources 92Aand 92B in a single sensor, which focuses its laser beam onto the targetfrom two orthogonal directions, the ASIC 81 combines the two axialvelocities into a single velocity vector in the movement plane of thetarget surface. Positional or object motion information is then derivedby integrating velocity over time.

In the illustrative embodiment, the two solid-state IR laser diodes 92Aand 92B could be mounted directly on top of the ASIC 81 that performsthe analog and digital signal processing operations in themotion/velocity sensor. This chip-stack is then mounted on a lead-frameand bonded into a package that has the necessary beam-forming lensespre-molded into it. A motion/velocity sensor constructed in this way canmeasure a mere 6.8 mm square and 3.85 mm high package, enabling severalmotion/velocity SIPs to be integrated into a PLIA module employed ineach station of the system. Laser power is dynamically controlled bycircuitry in the ASIC and continuously monitored by independentprotection circuitry that automatically short-circuits the laser when anover-power condition is detected. This dual-redundant active protectionsubsystem protects against both internal and external circuit faults,insuring that the laser power always stays within allowed safety-classlimits.

Notably, the use of a pair of solid-state lasers as both the source andself-mixing detectors in the IR motion/velocity sensor 49″ offersseveral significant advantages. Firstly, the optical pathways from thelaser source to the target surface, and from the target surface back tothe laser source, are identical, and therefore, there are no criticalalignment problems in the positioning of the optical components.Secondly, the wavelength sensitivity of the self-mixing laser diodedetector is inherently aligned to the laser wavelength, therebyeliminating many of the drift problems associated with separate sourcesand detectors.

To meet the low power consumption requirements of battery poweredapplications, the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR motion/velocity sensor cansample the target object surface at a frequency sufficiently high enoughto meet the required accuracy, rather than sampling/measuringcontinuously, thereby allowing the IR laser diode sources to be pulsedon and off, in a pulsed mode of operation supporting the pulsed-dopplerLIDAR technique employed therein.

Further details regarding the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR motion/velocitysensor can be found in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0243053 entitled“Method Of Measuring The Movement Of An Input Device” by Martin DieterLiess et al. published on Nov. 3, 2005, assigned to PHILIPS INTELLECTUALPROPERTY & STANDARDS, and incorporated herein by reference as if fullyset forth herein.

As shown in FIG. 6F1′, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 6′ and 6B′, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 6G1A′ and 6G1B′, withlocally-controlled IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR object motion/velocitydetection provided in each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystemof the system, as illustrated in FIG. 6′. The flow chart of FIGS. 6G1A′and 6G1B′ describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automaticallyperformed during the state control process of FIG. 6F1′, which iscarried out within the omni-directional image capturing and processingbased bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 6′ and 6B′.

At Step A in FIG. 6G1A′, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 6G1A′, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49″continuously detects IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR signals within the ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection Field of the station (coincident with the FOVof the IFD subsystem) and automatically processes these detected signalsso as to automatically detect the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 6G1A′, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Pulse-Doppler LIDAR Based Object Motion/Velocity DetectionField, its local control subsystem automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDARbased object motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49″ can be permitted tosimultaneously collect updated object motion and velocity data for usein dynamically controlling the exposure and illumination parameters ofthe IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 6G1B′, from each Coplanar Illuminationand Imaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 6G1B′, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures each CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 6G1B′, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation returns to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State atStep B, to resume collection and updating of object motion and velocitydata (and derive control data for exposure and/or illumination control).

As shown in FIG. 6F2′, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 6′ and 6B′, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 6G2A′ and 6G2B, employinglocally-controlled IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR object motion/velocitydetection in each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of thesystem, with globally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboringstations. The flow chart of FIGS. 6G2A′ and 6G2B′ describes theoperations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performed during thestate control process of FIG. 6F2′, which is carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 6′ and 6B′.

At Step A in FIG. 6G2A′, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 6G2A′, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49″continuously detects returning IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR signals within theObject Motion/Velocity Detection Field of the station (coincident withthe FOV of the IFD subsystem) and automatically processes thesePulse-Doppler LIDAR signals so as to automatically detect the motion andvelocity of an object being passed through the 3D imaging volume of thestation and generate data representative thereof. From this data, thelocal control subsystem 50 generates control data for use in controllingthe exposure and/or illumination processes at coplanar illumination andimaging station (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFDsubsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 6G3A′, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local controlsubsystem 50 automatically configures the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State),and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystem forautomatically over-driving “nearest neighboring” coplanar illuminationand imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 at the station are preferablydriven at full power. In some illustrative embodiment, the objectmotion/velocity sensing subsystem 49″ can be permitted to simultaneouslycapture updated object motion and velocity data, for use in dynamicallycontrolling the exposure and illumination parameters of the IFDSubsystem 40.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 6G2B′, from each Coplanar Illuminationand Imaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and capturesand buffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed2D images to the global multi-processor image processing subsystem 20(or a local image processing subsystem in some embodiments) forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 6G2B′, upon a 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the system, the image processing subsystem 20automatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem 37 then reconfigures eachCoplanar Illumination and Imaging Station back into its ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State (and returns to Step B) so that thesystem can resume automatic detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 6G2B′, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem 50 reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control), and then returns to Step B.

As shown in FIG. 6F3′, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 6′ and 6B′, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 6G3A and 6G3B, employinglocally-controlled IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based object motion/velocitydetection in each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of thesystem, with globally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboringstations. The flow chart of FIGS. 6G3A′ and 6G3B′ describes theoperations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performed during thestate control process of FIG. 6F3, which is carried out within theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 6′ and 6B′.

At Step A in FIG. 6G3A′, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 6G3A′, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49″ (i)continuously detects returning IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR signals within theImaging-Based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field of the station(coincident with the FOV of the IFD subsystem) and (ii) automaticallyprocesses these Pulse-Doppler LIDAR signals so as to automaticallymeasure the motion and velocity of an object being passed through the 3Dimaging volume of the station and generate data representative thereof.From this motion and velocity data, the local control subsystem 50generates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem 40).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 6G3A′, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local controlsubsystem 50 automatically configures the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State),and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystem forautomatically over-driving “all neighboring” coplanar illumination andimaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. In some illustrative embodiments, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem 49″ can be permitted to simultaneously capture updatedobject motion and velocity data for use in dynamically controlling theexposure and illumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem 40.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 6G3B′, from each Coplanar Illuminationand Imaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 6G3B′, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures each CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 6G3B′, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem 50 reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, tocollect and update object motion and velocity data (and derive controldata for exposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 6H′ describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 6′ and 6B′. As shown, this hardware computing andmemory platform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the coplanar illumination and imagingstations and other subsystems described in FIGS. 6G1A′ through 6G3B′. Asshown, the hardware platform comprises: at least one, but preferablymultiple high speed dual core microprocessors, to provide amulti-processor architecture having high bandwidth video-interfaces; anFPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) for managing the digital image streams supplied bythe plurality of digital image capturing and buffering channels, each ofwhich is driven by a coplanar illumination and imaging station (e.g.linear CCD or CMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) inthe system; a robust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM,Flash Memory, SRAM and even a hard-drive persistence memory in someapplications; arrays of VLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping andcollimating/focusing optics; and analog and digital circuitry forrealizing the illumination subsystem; interface board withmicroprocessors and connectors; power supply and distribution circuitry;as well as circuitry for implementing the others subsystems employed inthe system.

FIG. 6I′ describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 6H′, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIGS. 6′and 6B′. Details regarding the foundations of this three-tierarchitecture can be found in Applicants' copending U.S. patent Ser. No.11/408,268, incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the Main Taskand Subordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the ApplicationLayer would carry out the system and subsystem functionalities describedin the State Control Processes of FIG. 6G1A′ through 6G3B′, and StateTransition Diagrams. In an illustrative embodiment, the Main Task wouldcarry out the basic object motion and velocity detection operationssupported within the 3D imaging volume by each of the coplanarillumination and imaging subsystems, and Subordinate Task would becalled to carry out the bar code reading operations the informationprocessing channels of those stations that are configured in their BarCode Reading State (Mode) of operation. Details of task development willreadily occur to those skilled in the art having the benefit of thepresent invention disclosure.

The Second Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention

In FIG. 7, the second illustrative embodiment of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofthe present invention 10B is shown removed from its POS environment inFIG. 1, and with its imaging window protection plate 17 having a centralX aperture pattern and a pair of parallel apertures aligned parallel tothe sides of the system, for the projection of coplanar illumination andimaging planes from a complex of VLD or LED based coplanar illuminationand imaging stations 15′″ mounted beneath the imaging window of thesystem. The omni-directional image capturing and processing based barcode symbol reading system 10B is integrated with an electronic weighscale 22, and has thin, tablet-like form factor for compact mounting inthe countertop surface of the POS station. The primary function of thiscomplex of coplanar illumination and imaging stations 15′″ is togenerate and project coplanar illumination and imaging planes throughthe imaging window and apertures into the 3D imaging volume of thesystem, and capture digital linear (1D) digital images along the fieldof view (FOV) of these illumination and linear imaging planes. Thesecaptured linear images are then buffered and decode-processed usinglinear (1D) type image capturing and processing based bar code readingalgorithms, or can be assembled together to reconstruct 2D images fordecode-processing using 1D/2D image processing based bar code readingtechniques, as well as other intelligence extraction processes such asOCR, and object recognition.

As shown in FIG. 7A, each coplanar illumination and imaging station 15′″employed in the system of FIG. 7 comprises: a dual linear illuminationand imaging engine 100 for producing a pair of planar illumination beams(PLIBs) that are coplanar with the FOVs of a pair of linear imagesensing arrays; and a pair of beam/FOV folding mirrors 101A and 101B forfolding the pair of coplanar PLIB/FOVs towards the objects to beilluminated and imaged. Notably, during the Object Motion/VelocitySensing State of the coplanar illumination and imaging station, thecoplanar illumination and imaging station 15′″ generates a pair ofcoplanar PLIB/FOVs for capturing pairs of sets of linear images of anobject, for real-time processing to abstract motion and velocity dataregarding the object. During the Bar Code Symbol Reading State ofoperation of the station, the coplanar illumination and imaging station15′″ generates a only a single coplanar PLIB/FOV for capturing sets oflinear images of an object, for processing to read bar code symbolsrepresented in captured images.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the dual linear illumination and imaging enginecomprises: an illumination subsystem 102 including a pair ofdouble-stacked linear arrays of VLDs or LEDs 102A and 102B forgenerating a pair of substantially planar illumination beams (PLIBs)from the station; an IFD subsystem 103 including a pair of spaced-apartlinear (1D) image sensing arrays 103A and 103B having optics 104 forproviding field of views (FOVs) that are coplanar with the pair ofPLIBs, and for capturing pairs of sets of linear images of an objectbeing illuminated and imaged; an image capturing and buffering subsystem105, including a pair of memory buffers (i.e. VRAM) 105A and 105B forbuffering the sets of linear images produced by the pair of linear imagesensing arrays 103A and 103B, respectively, so as to reconstruct a pairof 2D digital images for transmission to and processing by themultiprocessor image processing subsystem 20 in order to compute motionand velocity data regarding the object being imaged, from image data,for use in controlling the illumination and exposure parameters employedin the image acquisition subsystem at each station; and a local controlsubsystem 106 for controlling the subsystems within the station. Whileengine 100 is shown to simultaneously produce a pair of PLIBs that arecoplanar with the FOVs of the pair of linear image sensing arrays 103Aand 103B (i.e. coplanar PLIB/FOVs), it is understood that a single PLIBcan be produced, and automatically swept between the two FOVs of theengine, during the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State of operation.Details regarding the dual linear illumination and imaging engine 100described above can be found in Applicants' U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/186,320, incorporated herein by reference. As disclosed therein,pairs of time consecutively captured linear images can be processed on apixel-by pixel basis using correlation algorithms so as to extractmotion and velocity information regarding the object represented in thecaptured images.

In FIG. 7C, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system is showncomprising: a complex of VLD-based coplanar illuminating and linearimaging stations 15A′″ through 15A′″ each constructed using the duallinear illumination and imaging engine 100 and a pair PLIB/FOV foldingmirrors 101A and 101B, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B and describedhereinabove; a multi-processor image processing subsystem 20 forsupporting multiple channels of (i) automatic image capturing andprocessing based object motion/velocity detection and intelligentautomatic laser illumination control within the 3D imaging volume, aswell as (ii) automatic image processing based bar code reading alongeach coplanar illumination and imaging plane within the system; asoftware-based object recognition subsystem 21, for use in cooperationwith the image processing subsystem 20, and automatically recognizingobjects (such as vegetables and fruit) at the retail POS while beingimaged by the system; an electronic weight scale 22 employing one ormore load cells 23 positioned centrally below the system housing, forrapidly measuring the weight of objects positioned on the windowaperture of the system for weighing, and generating electronic datarepresentative of measured weight of the object; an input/outputsubsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processing subsystem, theelectronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-card reader 27 andElectronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28 (including EAS tagdeactivation block integrated in system housing); a wide-area wirelessinterface (WIFI) 31 including RF transceiver and antenna 31 A forconnecting to the TCP/IP layer of the Internet as well as one or moreimage storing and processing RDBMS servers 33 (which can receive imageslifted by system for remote processing by the image storing andprocessing servers 33); a BlueTooth® RF 2-way communication interface 35including RF transceivers and antennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth®enabled hand-held scanners, imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and thelike, for control, management, application and diagnostic purposes; anda global control subsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating andmanaging) the operation of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations (i.e. subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and othersubsystems. As shown, each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem15′ transmits frames of image data to the image processing subsystem 25,for state-dependent image processing and the results of the imageprocessing operations are transmitted to the host system via theinput/output subsystem 20.

As shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D, each coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystem 15A′″ through 15F′″ transmits frames of image data (fromengine 100) to the global image processing subsystem 20 forstate-dependent image processing, and the global image processingsubsystem 37 transmits back to the local control subsystem in thecoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem, control data (derived fromobject motion and velocity data) that is used to control the exposureand illumination operations within respective coplanar illumination andimaging subsystems.

In cooperation with the global image processing subsystem 20 of thesystem, the pair of substantially planar illumination arrays (PLIAs),the image formation and detection subsystem and the image capture andbuffering subsystem are configured to implement the real-timeimaging-based object motion/velocity sensing functions of the stationduring its object motion/velocity detection states of operation. Duringthe Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, both of the linearillumination arrays, both of the linear image sensing arrays, and bothof the 2D image memory buffers, are used to capture images and abstractobject motion and velocity data (i.e. metrics) on a real-time basis.During bar code reading states of operation in the system, only one ofthe linear illumination arrays and one of the linear image sensingarrays, along with one of the 2D image memory buffers, are used tocapture high-resolution images of the detected object for bar codedecode processing.

In FIG. 7E1, the object motion/velocity detection process supported ateach coplanar illumination and imaging station 15′″ is schematicallydepicted in greater detail. As shown, implementation of themotion/velocity detection process involves the use of the pair ofillumination arrays 102A and 102B and the pair of linear image sensingarrays 103A and 103B (of the IFD subsystem at the station), the pair of2D image memory buffers 105A and 105B, and the global image processingsubsystem 20. In FIG. 7E2, the steps of the object motion/velocitydetection process are described in greater detail. As shown at Blocks A1and A2 in FIG. 7E2, the FOVs of the linear image sensing arrays 103A and103B in the IFD subsystem are illuminated with light from the pair ofPLIBs generated by the pair linear illumination arrays 102A and 102B,and linear images are captured and buffered in the buffer memory arrays105A and 105B so as to reconstruct a pair of 2D images of the object. AtBlock B in FIG. 7E2, the 2D images are then processed by the globalimage processing subsystem 20 so as to derive image velocity metrics(i.e. motion and velocity data) which is sent back to the local controlsubsystem 50 within the coplanar illumination and imaging station 15′″.At Block C, the local control subsystem 50 uses the motion and velocitydata to generate control data that is then used to update one or moreoperating parameters of the illumination subsystem, and/or one or moreoperating parameters of the image formation and detection (IFD)subsystem, including adjusting the frequency of the clock signal used toread data out of the linear image sensing arrays in the IFD subsystem.

As shown in FIG. 7F1, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 7 and 7C, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 7G1A and 7G1B, withlocally-controlled “integrated” imaging-based object motion/velocitydetection provided in each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystemof the system, as illustrated in FIG. 7. The flow chart of FIGS. 7G1Aand 7G1B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automaticallyperformed during the state control process of FIG. 6F1, which is carriedout within the omni-directional image capturing and processing based barcode symbol reading system described in FIGS. 7 and 7C.

At Step A in FIG. 7G1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 20 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 7G1A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystemcontinuously captures linear (1D) images along the Imaging-Based ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection Field of the station (coincident with the FOVof the IFD subsystem) and automatically processes these captured imagesso as to automatically detect the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the integratedmotion/velocity sensing subsystem can capture 2D images of objectswithin the 3D imaging volume, using ambient illumination, or directillumination generated by the (VLD and/or LED) illumination arraysemployed in the illumination subsystem, or elsewhere in the system. Inthe case of direct illumination, these illumination arrays arepreferably driven at the lowest possible power level so as to not bevisible or conspicuous to consumers who might be standing at the POS,near the system of the present invention, but sufficiently bright so asto form good quality images sufficient for motion and velocitymeasurement.

Also, during the Object Motion/Velocity Detection Mode, it may also bedesirable to increase the thickness of the planar illumination beam sothat the illumination beam illuminates a sufficient number of rows (e.g.10+ rows) on the 2D image sensing array of the object motion/velocitydetection subsystem. Increasing the illumination beam thickness may becarried out in a variety of ways, including by installingelectro-optical devices along the optical path of the outgoingsubstantially planar illumination beam. Under electronic control ofeither the local or global control subsystem within the system, suchelectro-optical devices can increase beam thickness by light refractiveor diffractive principles known in the art.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 7G1A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local controlsubsystem 106 automatically configures the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station 15′″ into its Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode(State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), only one ofillumination arrays of the illumination subsystem 102 need be driven(e.g. preferably at full power) for a given duty cycle to capture tocapture images for bar code decoding operations. During the otherportion of the duty cycle, both illumination arrays can be operated toimplement the object motion/velocity sensing subsystem and processcollected images for continuously updating the object motion andvelocity data for use in dynamically controlling the exposure andillumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 7G1B, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 7G1B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem 25, and the global control subsystem reconfigures eachCoplanar Illumination and Imaging Station back into its ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State and returns to Step B, so that thesystem can resume detection of object motion and velocity within the 3Dimaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 7G1B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, tocollect and update object motion and velocity data (and derive controldata for exposure and/or illumination control).

As shown in FIG. 7F2, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 7 and 7C, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 7G2A and 7G2B, employinglocally-controlled “integrated” object motion/velocity detection in eachcoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations. Theflow chart of FIGS. 7G2A and 7G2B describes the operations (i.e. tasks)that are automatically performed during the state control process ofFIG. 7F2, which is carried out within the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 7 and 7C.

At Step A in FIG. 7G2A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 7G2A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the integrated object motion/velocity detectionsubsystem continuously captures linear (1D) images along theImaging-Based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field of the station(coincident with the FOV of the IFD subsystem) and automaticallyprocesses these captured images so as to automatically detect the motionand velocity of an object being passed through the 3D imaging volume ofthe station and generate data representative thereof. From this data,the local control subsystem generates control data for use incontrolling the exposure and/or illumination processes at coplanarillumination and imaging station (e.g. the frequency of the clock signalused in the IFD subsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the integratedmotion/velocity sensing subsystem provided at each coplanar illuminationand imaging station can capture 2D images of objects within the 3Dimaging volume, using ambient lighting, or using lighting generated bythe (VLD and/or LED) illumination arrays employed in the illuminationsubsystem, or elsewhere in the system. Preferably, such illuminationarrays are driven at the lowest possible power level so as to notproduce effects that are visible or conspicuous to the operator orconsumers who might be standing at the POS, near the system.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 7G2A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 106 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State), and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystem37 for automatically over-driving “nearest neighboring” coplanarillumination and imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays employed in the illumination subsystem 103 at the station arepreferably driven at full power. Optionally, at periodic intervalsduring this mode, the integrated object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem can be permitted to continuously collect updated object motionand velocity data, for use in dynamically controlling the exposure andillumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 7G2B, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and capturesand buffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 (or a local imageprocessing subsystem in alternative embodiments) for processing thesebuffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar code symbol represented inthe images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 7G2B, upon a 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the system, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem then reconfigures eachCoplanar Illumination and Imaging Station back into its ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State (and returns to Step B) so that thesystem can resume automatic detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 7G2B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control), and then returns to Step B.

As shown in FIG. 7F3, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 7 and 7C, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 7G3A and 7G3B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboring stations. The flowchart of FIGS. 7G3A and 7G3B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) thatare automatically performed during the state control process of FIG.7F3, which is carried out within the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 7and 7C.

At Step A in FIG. 7G3A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 7G3A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the integrated object motion/velocity detectionsubsystem continuously captures linear (1D) images along theImaging-Based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field of the station(coincident with the FOV of the IFD subsystem) and automaticallyprocesses these captured images so as to automatically detect the motionand velocity of an object being passed through the 3D imaging volume ofthe station and generate data representative thereof. From this data,the local control subsystem generates control data for use incontrolling the exposure and/or illumination processes at coplanarillumination and imaging station (e.g. the frequency of the clock signalused in the IFD subsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the motion/velocitysensing subsystem provided at each coplanar illumination and imagingstation can capture 2D images of objects within the 3D imaging volume,using ambient lighting or light generated by the (VLD and/or LED)illumination arrays employed in the illumination subsystem, or elsewherein the system. Preferably, these illumination arrays are driven at thelowest possible power level so as to not produce effects that arevisible or conspicuous to the operator or consumers who might bestanding at the POS, near the system of the present invention.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 7G2A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 106 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State), and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystemfor automatically over-driving “all neighboring” coplanar illuminationand imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, during periodic intervals during the mode, theintegrated object motion/velocity sensing subsystem can be permitted tocollect updated object motion and sensing data for dynamicallycontrolling the exposure and illumination parameters of the IFDSubsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 7G3B, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 7G3B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures each CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 7G3B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation returns to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State atStep B, to collect and update object motion and velocity data (andderive control data for exposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 7H describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 7 and 7C. As shown, this hardware computing andmemory platform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the coplanar illumination and imagingstations and other subsystems described in FIGS. 7G1A through 7G3B. Asshown, the hardware platform comprises: at least one, but preferablymultiple high speed dual core microprocessors, to provide amulti-processor architecture having high bandwidth video-interfaces; anFPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) for managing the digital image streams supplied bythe plurality of digital image capturing and buffering channels, each ofwhich is driven by a coplanar illumination and imaging station (e.g.linear CCD or CMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) inthe system; a robust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM,Flash Memory, SRAM and even a hard-drive persistence memory in someapplications; arrays of VLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping andcollimating/focusing optics; and analog and digital circuitry forrealizing the illumination subsystem; interface board withmicroprocessors and connectors; power supply and distribution circuitry;as well as circuitry for implementing the others subsystems employed inthe system.

FIG. 7I describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 7H, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIGS. 7and 7C. Details regarding the foundations of this three-tierarchitecture can be found in Applicants' copending U.S. application Ser.No. 11/408,268, incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the MainTask and Subordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the ApplicationLayer would carry out the system and subsystem functionalities describedin the State Control Processes of FIG. 7G1A through 7G3B, and StateTransition Diagrams of FIG. 7F1 through 7F3. In an illustrativeembodiment, the Main Task would carry out the basic object motion andvelocity detection operations supported within the 3D imaging volume byeach of the coplanar illumination and imaging subsystems, andSubordinate Task would be called to carry out the bar code readingoperations the information processing channels of those stations thatare configured in their Bar Code Reading State (Mode) of operation.Details of task development will readily occur to those skilled in theart having the benefit of the present invention disclosure.

The Third Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention Employing Globally-Deployed Imaging-Based ObjectMotion/Velocity Detectors in the 3D Imaging Volume Thereof

As shown in FIG. 8A, a plurality of imaging-based object motion andvelocity “field of views” 120A, 120B and 120C are generated from aplurality of imaging-based motion/velocity detection subsystems 121installed in the system 10D, and operated during its ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection Mode. As these imaging-based object motion andvelocity “field of views” are not necessarily spatially co-extensive oroverlapping the coplanar illumination and imaging planes generatedwithin the 3D imaging volume by subsystem (i.e. station) 15 in thesystem, the FOVs of these object motion/velocity detecting subsystemswill need to use either ambient illumination or pulsed or continuouslyoperated LED or VLD illumination sources so as to illuminate their FOVsduring the Object Motion/Velocity Detection Mode of the system. Ideally,these illumination sources would produce IR illumination (e.g. in the850 nm range). The function of these globally deployed objectmotion/velocity detection subsystems is to enable automatic control ofillumination and/or exposure during the Bar Code Reading Mode of thesystem.

In FIG. 8A1, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system 10D ofFIG. 8A is shown comprising: a complex of coplanar illuminating andlinear-imaging stations 15A through 15F constructed using the linearillumination arrays and image sensing arrays as described hereinabove;an multi-processor image processing subsystem 20 for supportingautomatic image processing based bar code symbol reading and opticalcharacter recognition (OCR) along each coplanar illumination and imagingplane within the system; a software-based object recognition subsystem21, for use in cooperation with the image processing subsystem 20, andautomatically recognizing objects (such as vegetables and fruit) at theretail POS while being imaged by the system; an electronic weight scale22 employing one or more load cells 23 positioned centrally below thesystem housing, for rapidly measuring the weight of objects positionedon the window aperture of the system for weighing, and generatingelectronic data representative of measured weight of the object; aninput/output subsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processingsubsystem, the electronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-cardreader 27 and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28(including EAS tag deactivation block integrated in system housing); awide-area wireless interface (WIFI) 31 including RF transceiver andantenna 31A for connecting to the TCP/IP layer of the Internet as wellas one or more image storing and processing RDBMS servers 33 (which canreceive images lifted by system for remote processing by the imagestoring and processing servers 33); a BlueTooth® RF 2-way communicationinterface 35 including RF transceivers and antennas 3A for connecting toBlue-tooth® enabled hand-held scanners, imagers, PDAs, portablecomputers 36 and the like, for control, management, application anddiagnostic purposes; and a global control subsystem 37 for controlling(i.e. orchestrating and managing) the operation of the coplanarillumination and imaging stations (i.e. subsystems), electronic weightscale 22, and other subsystems. As shown, each coplanar illumination andimaging subsystem 15′ transmits frames of image data to the imageprocessing subsystem 25, for state-dependent image processing and theresults of the image processing operations are transmitted to the hostsystem via the input/output subsystem 20. In FIG. 8A1, the bar codesymbol reading module employed along each channel of the multi-channelimage processing subsystem 20 can be realized using SwiftDecoder® ImageProcessing Based Bar Code Reading Software from Omniplanar Corporation,West Deptford, N.J., or any other suitable image processing based barcode reading software.

As shown in FIGS. 8A2 and 8A3, each coplanar illumination and imagingstation 15 employed in the system of FIGS. 8A comprises: an illuminationsubsystem 44 including a linear array of VLDs or LEDs 44A and 44B andassociated focusing and cylindrical beam shaping optics (i.e. planarillumination arrays PLIAS), for generating a planar illumination beam(PLIB) from the station; a linear image formation and detection (IFD)subsystem 40 having a camera controller interface (e.g. FPGA) 40A forinterfacing with the local control subsystem 50 and a high-resolutionlinear image sensing array 41 with optics providing a field of view(FOV) on the image sensing array that is coplanar with the PLIB producedby the linear illumination array 44A so as to form and detect lineardigital images of objects within the FOV of the system; a local controlsubsystem 50 for locally controlling the operation of subcomponentswithin the station, in response to control signals generated by globalcontrol subsystem 37 maintained at the system level, shown in FIG. 8A;an image capturing and buffering subsystem 48 for capturing lineardigital images with the linear image sensing array 41 and bufferingthese linear images in buffer memory so as to form 2D digital images fortransfer to image-processing subsystem 20 maintained at the systemlevel, as shown in FIG. 6B, and subsequent image processing according tobar code symbol decoding algorithms, OCR algorithms, and/or objectrecognition processes; a high-speed image capturing and processing basedmotion/velocity sensing subsystem 130 (similar to subsystem 49′) formeasuring the motion and velocity of objects in the 3D imaging volumeand supplying the motion and velocity data to the local controlsubsystem 50 for processing and automatic generation of control datathat is used to control the illumination and exposure parameters of thelinear image formation and detection system within the station. Detailsregarding the design and construction of planar illumination and imagingmodule (PLIIMs) can be found in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIG. 8A3, the high-speed image capturing and processingbased motion/velocity sensing subsystem 130 comprises: an area-typeimage acquisition subsystem 131 with an area-type image sensing array132 and optics 133 for generating a field of view (FOV) that ispreferably spatially coextensive with the longer dimensions of the FOVof the linear image formation and detection subsystem 40; an (IR)illumination area-type illumination subsystem 134 having an a pair of IRillumination arrays 134A and 134B; and an embedded digital signalprocessing (DSP) image processor 135 for automatically processing 2Dimages captured by the digital image acquisition subsystem 131. The DSPimage processor 135 processes captured images so as to automaticallyabstract, in real-time, motion and velocity data from the processedimages and provide this motion and velocity data to the global controlsubsystem 37, or alternatively to local control subsystem 40 of eachstation 15, for the processing and automatic generation of control datathat is used to control the illumination and/or exposure parameters ofthe linear image formation and detection system within the station.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A3 and 8A4, each imagecapturing and processing based motion/velocity sensing subsystem 130continuously and automatically computes the motion and velocity ofobjects passing through the planar FOV of the station, and uses thisdata to generate control signals that set the frequency of the clocksignal used to read out data from the linear image sensing array 41employed in the linear image formation and detection subsystem of thesystem

As shown in FIG. 8A3, the area-type LED or VLD based illumination array132 and the area-type image sensing array 131 cooperate to producedigital images of IR-illuminated objects passing through at least at aportion of the FOV of the linear image formation and detection subsystem40. Then, DSP-based image processor (e.g. ASICs) process captured imagesusing cross-correlation functions to compute (i.e. measure) motion andvelocity regarding object(s) within the FOV of the linear imageformation and detection subsystem. This motion and velocity data is thenprovided to the global subsystem controller 37 so that it can generate(i.e. compute) control data for controlling the frequency of the clocksignal used in reading data out of the linear image sensing arrays ofthe image formation and detection subsystems 40 in the stations of thesystem. Alternatively, this motion and velocity data can be sent to thelocal control subsystems for local computation of control data forcontrolling the illumination and/or exposure parameters employed in thestation. An algorithm for computing such control data, based on sensed2D images of objects moving through (at least a portion of) the FOV ofthe linear image formation and detection subsystem, is described in FIG.8A4 and the Specification set forth hereinabove. While the systemembodiments of FIGS. 8A3 and 8A4 illustrate controlling the clockfrequency in the image formation and detection subsystem, it isunderstood that other camera parameters, relating to exposure and/orillumination, can be controlled in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention.

In general, there are two different methods for realizing non-contactimaging-based velocity sensors for use in detecting the motion andvelocity of objects passing through the 3D imaging volume of the systemof the present invention, depicted in FIG. 8B, namely: (1) forming anddetecting images of objects using incoherent illumination produced froman array of LEDs or like illumination source (i.e. incoherentPulse-Doppler LIDAR); and (2) forming and detecting images of objectsusing coherent illumination produced from an array of VLDs or otherlaser illumination sources (i.e. coherent Pulse-Doppler LIDAR).

According to the first method, a beam of incoherent light is generatedby an array of LEDs 134 emitting at a particular band of wavelengths,and then this illumination is directed into the field of view of theimage acquisition subsystem 131 of the image-based objectmotion/velocity sensor 130 shown in FIGS. 8A3 and 8A4. According to thismethod, the pairs of 1D or 2D images of objects illuminated by suchillumination will be formed by the light absorptive or reflectiveproperties on the surface of the object, while moving through the 3Dimaging volume of the system. For objects having poor light reflectivecharacteristics at the illumination wavelength of the subsystem,low-contrast, poor quality images will be detected by the imageacquisition subsystem 131 of the object motion/velocity sensor 130making it difficult for the DSP processor 135 and its cross-correlationfunctions to abstract motion and velocity measurements. Thus, when usingthe first method, there is the tendency to illuminate objects usingillumination in the visible band, because most objects passing throughthe 3D imaging volume at the POS environment reflects light energy quitewell at such optical wavelengths. The challenge, however, when usingvisible illumination during the Object Motion/Velocity Detection Mode ofthe system is that it is undesirable to produce visible energy duringsuch modes of operation, as it will disturb the system operator andnearby consumers present at the POS station. This creates an incentiveto use an array of IR LEDs to produce a beam of wide-area illuminationat IR wavelengths (e.g. 850 nm) during the Object Motion/VelocityDetection Mode of operation. However, in some applications, the use ofwide-area IR illumination from an array of IR LEDs may not be feasibledue to significant levels of noise present in the IR band. In suchinstances, it might be helpful to look the second method of forming anddetecting “speckle-noise” images using highly coherent illumination.

According to the second method, a beam of coherent light is generated byan array of VLDs 134 emitting at a particular band of wavelengths (e.g.850 nm), and then this illumination is directed into the field of viewof the optics employed in the image acquisition subsystem 131 of theobject motion/velocity sensor 130, shown in FIG. 8A3. According to thismethod, the pairs of 1D or 2D “speckle-noise” images of objects(illuminated by such highly coherent illumination) will be formed by theIR absorptive or scattering properties of the surface of the object,while the object is moving through the 3D imaging volume of the system.Formation of speckle-pattern noise within the FOV of the motion/velocitysensor is a well known phenomena of physics, wherein laser lightilluminating a rough surface naturally generates speckle-pattern noisein the space around the object surface, and detected images of thetarget object will thus have speckle-pattern noise. Then, during imageprocessing in the DSP processor, speckle-processing algorithms can beused to appraise the best cross-correlation function for object velocitymeasurement. Such speckle-processing algorithms can be based on binarycorrelation or on Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis of imagesacquired by the image-based motion/velocity sensor 130. Using thisapproach, a coherent Pulse-Doppler LIDAR motion/velocity sensor can beconstructed, having reduced optical complexity and very low cost. Theworking distance of this kind of non-contact object velocity sensor canbe made to extend within the 3D imaging volume of the system by (i)placing suitable light dispersive optics placed before the IR laserillumination source to fill the FOV of the image sensor, and (ii)placing collimating optics placed before the image sensing array of thesensor. Details regarding such a coherent IR speckle-basedmotion/velocity sensor are disclosed in the IEEE paper entitled“Instrumentation and Measurement”, published in IEEE Transactions onVolume 53, Issue 1, on February 2004, at Page(s) 51-57, incorporatedherein by reference.

The Third Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention Employing Globally-Deployed IR Pulse-Doppler LIDARBased Object Motion/Velocity Detectors in the 3D Imaging Volume Thereof

In FIG. 8B, a second alternative embodiment of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofthe present invention 10E is shown removed from its POS environment,with one coplanar illumination and imaging plane being projected throughan aperture in its imaging window protection plate 17. In thisillustrative embodiment, each coplanar illumination and imaging planeprojected through the 3D imaging volume 16 of the system has a pluralityof IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based object motion/velocity sensing beams (A,B, C) that are spatially co-incident therewith, for sensing in real-timethe motion and velocity of objects passing therethrough during systemoperation. As shown in greater detail, the of IR Pulse-Doppler LIDARbased object motion/velocity sensing beams (A, B, C) are generated froma plurality of IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR motion/velocity detectionsubsystems 140, which can be realized using a plurality of IR (Coherentor Incoherent) Pulse-Doppler LIDAR motion/velocity sensing chips mountedalong the illumination array provided at each coplanar illumination andimaging station 15 in the system. In the illustrative embodiments ofFIG. 8B, three such IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR motion/velocity sensing chips(e.g. Philips PLN2020 Twin-Eye 850 nm IR Laser-Based Motion/VelocitySensor System in a Package (SIP)) are employed in each station in thesystem. Details regarding this subsystem are described in FIGS. 8C, 8Dand 8E and corresponding portions of the present Patent Specification.

As shown in FIG. 8B1, the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing based bar code symbol reading system 10E comprises: complexof coplanar illuminating and linear imaging stations 15A through 15Aconstructed using the linear illumination arrays and image sensingarrays described above; a multi-processor image processing subsystem 20for supporting automatic image processing based bar code symbol readingand optical character recognition (OCR) along each coplanar illuminationand imaging plane within the system; a software-based object recognitionsubsystem 21, for use in cooperation with the image processing subsystem20, and automatically recognizing objects (such as vegetables and fruit)at the retail POS while being imaged by the system; an electronic weightscale 22 employing one or more load cells 23 positioned centrally belowthe system housing, for rapidly measuring the weight of objectspositioned on the window aperture of the system for weighing, andgenerating electronic data representative of measured weight of theobject; an input/output subsystem 28 for interfacing with the imageprocessing subsystem, the electronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26,credit-card reader 27 and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS)Subsystem 28 (including EAS tag deactivation block integrated in systemhousing); a wide-area wireless interface (WIFI) 31 including RFtransceiver and antenna 31A for connecting to the TCP/IP layer of theInternet as well as one or more image storing and processing RDBMSservers 33 (which can receive images lifted by system for remoteprocessing by the image storing and processing servers 33); a BlueTooth®RF 2-way communication interface 35 including RF transceivers andantennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth® enabled hand-held scanners,imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and the like, for control,management, application and diagnostic purposes; and a global controlsubsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating and managing) theoperation of the coplanar illumination and imaging stations (i.e.subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and other subsystems. As shown,each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem 15 transmits frames ofimage data to the image processing subsystem 25, for state-dependentimage processing and the results of the image processing operations aretransmitted to the host system via the input/output subsystem 20. InFIG. 8B1, the bar code symbol reading module employed along each channelof the multi-channel image processing subsystem 20 can be realized usingSwiftDecoder® Image Processing Based Bar Code Reading Software fromOmniplanar Corporation, West Deptford, N.J., or any other suitable imageprocessing based bar code reading software.

As shown in FIG. 8B2, each coplanar illumination and imaging stations 15employed in the system embodiment of FIG. 8B1, comprises: anillumination subsystem 44 including planar illumination arrays (PLIA)44A and 44B; a linear image formation and detection subsystem 40including linear image sensing array 41 and optics 42 providing a fieldof view (FOV) on the image sensing array; an image capturing andbuffering subsystem 48; and a local control subsystem 50.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 8C, each globally deployed IRPulse-Doppler LIDAR based object motion/velocity sensing subsystem 140can be realized using a high-speed IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR basedmotion/velocity sensor, as shown in FIGS. 6D1′, 6D2′, and 6E′ anddescribed in great technical detail above. The purpose of this sensor140 is to (i) detect whether or not an object is present within the FOVat any instant in time, and (ii) detect the motion and velocity ofobjects passing through the FOV of the linear image sensing array, forultimately controlling camera parameters in real-time, including theclock frequency of the linear image sensing array. FIG. 8D shows ingreater detail the IR Pulse-Doppler LIDAR based object motion/velocitydetection subsystem 140 and how it cooperates with the local controlsubsystem, the planar illumination array (PLIA), and the linear imageformation and detection subsystem.

Having described two alternative system embodiments employingglobally-deployed object motion/velocity sensing, as shown in FIGS. 8Athrough 8A4, and 8B through 8E, it is appropriate at this juncture tonow describe various system control methods that can be used inconnection with these system embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 8F, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 8A and 8B, running the system controlprogram described in flow chart of FIG. 8G, with globally-controlledobject motion/velocity detection provided in each coplanar illuminationand imaging subsystem of the system, as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B.The flow chart of FIG. 8G describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that areautomatically performed during the state control process of FIG. 8F,which is carried out within the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing based bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 8Aand 8B.

At Step A in FIG. 8G1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System (“System”)10E, and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbol thereby, theglobal control subsystem 37 initializes the system by pre-configuringeach Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station 15 employed therein inits Object Motion/Velocity Detection State which is essentially a“stand-by” sort of state because the globally-deployed objectmotion/velocity sensor 140 has been assigned the task of carrying outthis function in the system.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 8G, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 140automatically detects the motion and velocity of an object being passedthrough the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemsgenerate control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging stations(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 8G, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field with the help ofglobally deployed motion/velocity sensors 140, and in response tocontrol data from the global control subsystem 37, the local controlsubsystem 50 automatically configures the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneously collect (during theImaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) updated object motion and velocitydata for use in dynamically controlling the exposure and/or illuminationparameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 8G, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 8G, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures each CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 8G, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem (under global control) reconfigures the coplanarillumination and imaging station to its Object Motion and VelocityDetection State (i.e. Stand-By State) at Step B, to allow the system toresume collection and updating of object motion and velocity data (andderive control data for exposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 8H describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 8A and 8B. As shown, this hardware computing andmemory platform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the coplanar illumination and imagingstations and other subsystems described in FIG. 8G. As shown, thehardware platform comprises: at least one, but preferably multiple highspeed dual core microprocessors, to provide a multi-processorarchitecture having high bandwidth video-interfaces; an FPGA (e.g.Spartan 3) for managing the digital image streams supplied by theplurality of digital image capturing and buffering channels, each ofwhich is driven by a coplanar illumination and imaging station (e.g.linear CCD or CMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) inthe system; a robust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM,Flash Memory, SRAM and even a hard-drive persistence memory in someapplications; arrays of VLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping andcollimating/focusing optics; and analog and digital circuitry forrealizing the illumination subsystem; interface board withmicroprocessors and connectors; power supply and distribution circuitry;as well as circuitry for implementing the others subsystems employed inthe system.

FIG. 8I describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 8H, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIGS. 8Aand 8B. Details regarding the foundations of this three-tierarchitecture can be found in Applicants' copending U.S. patent Ser. No.11/408,268, incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the Main Taskand Subordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the ApplicationLayer would carry out the system and subsystem functionalities describedin the State Control Processes of FIG. 8G, and State TransitionDiagrams. In an illustrative embodiment, the Main Task would carry outthe basic object motion and velocity detection operations supportedwithin the 3D imaging volume by each of the coplanar illumination andimaging subsystems, and Subordinate Task would be called to carry outthe bar code reading operations the information processing channels ofthose stations that are configured in their Bar Code Reading State(Mode) of operation. Details of task development will readily occur tothose skilled in the art having the benefit of the present inventiondisclosure.

The Fourth Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention

FIG. 9A shows a fourth illustrative embodiment of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofthe present invention 150 installed in the countertop surface of aretail POS station. As shown, the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing based bar code symbol reading system 150 comprises bothvertical and horizontal housing sections, each provided with coplanarillumination and imaging stations for aggressively supporting both“pass-through” as well as “presentation” modes of bar code imagecapture.

As shown in greater detail in FIG. 9B, the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system 150comprises: a horizontal section 10 (e.g. 10A, 10B, . . . 10E) forprojecting a first complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes55 from its horizontal imaging window; and a vertical section 160 thatprojects (i) one horizontally-extending coplanar illumination andimaging plane 161 and (ii) two vertically-extending spaced-apartcoplanar illumination and imaging planes 162A and 162B from itsapertures 164 formed in a protection plate 165 releasably mounted oververtical imaging window 166, into the 3D imaging volume of the system,enabling to aggressive support for both “pass-through” as well as“presentation” modes of bar code image capture. The primary functions ofeach coplanar laser illumination and imaging station is to generate andproject coplanar illumination and imaging planes through the imagingwindow and apertures into the 3D imaging volume of the system, andcapture digital linear (1D) digital images along the field of view (FOV)of these illumination and linear imaging planes. These captured linearimages are then buffered and decode-processed using linear (1D) typeimage capturing and processing based bar code reading algorithms, or canbe assembled together to reconstruct 2D images for decode-processingusing 1D/2D image processing based bar code reading techniques.

In general, each coplanar illumination and imaging station employed inthe system of FIG. 9B can be realized as a linear array of VLDs or LEDsand associated focusing and cylindrical beam shaping optics (i.e. planarillumination arrays PLIAs) are used to generate a substantially planarillumination beam (PLIB) from each station, that is coplanar with thefield of view of the linear (1D) image sensing array employed in thestation. Any of the station designs described hereinabove can be used toimplement this illustrative system embodiment. Details regarding thedesign and construction of planar laser illumination and imaging module(PLIIMs) can be found in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2incorporated herein by reference.

In FIG. 9C, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 9Bis shown comprising: a complex of coplanar illuminating and linearimaging stations 15 constructed using LED or VLD based linearillumination arrays and image sensing arrays, as described hereinabove;an multi-channel multi-processor image processing subsystem 20 forsupporting automatic object motion/velocity detection and intelligentautomatic laser illumination control within the 3D imaging volume, aswell as automatic image processing based bar code reading along eachcoplanar illumination and imaging plane within the system; asoftware-based object recognition subsystem 21, for use in cooperationwith the image processing subsystem 20, and automatically recognizingobjects (such as vegetables and fruit) at the retail POS while beingimaged by the system; an electronic weight scale 22 employing one ormore load cells 23 positioned centrally below the system housing, forrapidly measuring the weight of objects positioned on the windowaperture of the system for weighing, and generating electronic datarepresentative of measured weight of the object; an input/outputsubsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processing subsystem, theelectronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-card reader 27 andElectronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28 (including EAS tagdeactivation block integrated in system housing)s; a wide-area wirelessinterface (WIFI) 31 including RF transceiver and antenna 31A forconnecting to the TCP/IP layer of the Internet as well as one or moreimage storing and processing RDBMS servers 33 (which can receive imageslifted by system for remote processing by the image storing andprocessing servers 33); a BlueTooth® RF 2-way communication interface 35including RF transceivers and antennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth®enabled hand-held scanners, imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and thelike, for control, management, application and diagnostic purposes; anda global control subsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating andmanaging) the operation of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations (i.e. subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and othersubsystems. As shown, each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem15′ transmits frames of image data to the image processing subsystem 25,for state-dependent image processing and the results of the imageprocessing operations are transmitted to the host system via theinput/output subsystem 20.

As shown in FIGS. 9D and 9E, each coplanar illumination and imagingstation 15 employed in the system of FIGS. 9B and 9C comprises: anillumination subsystem 44 including a linear array of VLDs or LEDs andassociated focusing and cylindrical beam shaping optics (i.e. planarillumination arrays PLIAs), for generating a planar illumination beam(PLIB) from the station; a linear image formation and detection (IFD)subsystem 40 having a camera controller interface (e.g. FPGA) forinterfacing with the local control subsystem 50 and a high-resolutionlinear image sensing array 41 with optics 42 providing a field of view(FOV) on the image sensing array that is coplanar with the PLIB producedby the linear illumination array 41, so as to form and detect lineardigital images of objects within the FOV of the system; a local controlsubsystem 50 for locally controlling the operation of subcomponentswithin the station, in response to control signals generated by globalcontrol subsystem 37 maintained at the system level, shown in FIG. 8B;an image capturing and buffering subsystem 48 for capturing lineardigital images with the linear image sensing array 41 and bufferingthese linear images in buffer memory so as to form 2D digital images fortransfer to image-processing subsystem 20 maintained at the systemlevel, as shown in FIG. 8B, and subsequent image processing according tobar code symbol decoding algorithms, OCR algorithms, and/or objectrecognition processes; a high-speed image capturing and processing basedmotion/velocity sensing subsystem 49 for producing motion and velocitydata for supply to the local control subsystem 50 for processing andautomatic generation of control data that is used to control theillumination and exposure parameters of the linear image formation anddetection system within the station. Details regarding the design andconstruction of planar illumination and imaging module (PLIIMs) can befound in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2 incorporated herein byreference.

As shown in FIGS. 9D and 9E, the high-speed motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 can be realized any of the motion/velocity detectiontechniques detailed hereinabove so as to provide real-time motion andvelocity data to the local control subsystem 50 for processing andautomatic generation of control data that is used to control theillumination and exposure parameters of the linear image formation anddetection system within the station. Alternatively, motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49 can be deployed outside of illumination andimaging station, as positioned globally as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIG. 9F1, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 9B and 9C, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 6G1A and 6G1B, withlocally-controlled imaging-based object motion/velocity detectionprovided in each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of thesystem, as illustrated in FIG. 9B. The flow chart of FIGS. 9G1A and 9G1Bdescribes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 9F1, which is carried outwithin the omni-directional image capturing and processing based barcode symbol reading system described in FIGS. 9B and 9C.

At Step A in FIG. 9G1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 9G1A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49continuously and automatically detects the motion and velocity of anobject being passed through the 3D imaging volume of the station andgenerate data representative thereof. From this data, the local controlsubsystem 50 generates control data for use in controlling the exposureand/or illumination processes at coplanar illumination and imagingstation (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFDsubsystem 40).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the motion/velocitysensing subsystem provided at each coplanar illumination and imagingstation can capture 2D images of objects within the 3D imaging volume,using ambient lighting, or using lighting generated by the (VLD and/orLED) illumination arrays employed in either the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem or within the illumination subsystem. In the eventillumination sources within the illumination subsystem are employed,then these illumination arrays are driven at the lowest possible powerlevel so as to not produce effects that are visible or conspicuous tothe system operator or consumers who might be standing at the POS, nearthe system of the present invention.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 9G1A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneously collect (during theImaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) updated object motion and sensingdata for dynamically controlling the exposure and illuminationparameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 9G1B, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 9G1B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem (for transmission to the host computer), and the globalcontrol subsystem reconfigures each Coplanar Illumination and ImagingStation back into its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State and returnsto Step B, so that the system can resume detection of object motion andvelocity within the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 9G1B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation returns to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State atStep B, to collect and update object motion and velocity data (andderive control data for exposure and/or illumination control).

As shown in FIG. 9F2, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 9B and 9C, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 9G2A and 9G2B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations. Theflow chart of FIGS. 9G2A and 9G2B describes the operations (i.e. tasks)that are automatically performed during the state control process ofFIG. 9F2, which is carried out within the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 9A and 9B.

At Step A in FIG. 9G2A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 9G2A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49continuously and automatically detects the motion and velocity of anobject being passed through the 3D imaging volume of the station andgenerate data representative thereof. From this data, the local controlsubsystem generates control data for use in controlling the exposureand/or illumination processes at coplanar illumination and imagingstation (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFDsubsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 9G2A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State), and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystemfor automatically over-driving “nearest neighboring” coplanarillumination and imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 at the station are preferablydriven at full power. Optionally, in some applications, the objectmotion/velocity sensing subsystem 49 may be permitted to simultaneouslycollect (during the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) updated objectmotion and velocity data, for use in dynamically controlling theexposure and illumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 9G2B, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and capturesand buffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed2D images to the global multi-processor image processing subsystem 20(or a local image processing subsystem in some embodiments) forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 9G2B, upon a 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the system, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem then reconfigures eachCoplanar Illumination and Imaging Station back into its ObjectMotion/Velocity Detection State (and returns to Step B) so that thesystem can resume automatic detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 9G2B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation returns to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, tocollect and update object motion and velocity data (and derive controldata for exposure and/or illumination control), and then returns to StepB.

As shown in FIG. 9F3, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 9B and 9C, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 9G3A and 9G3B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboring stations. The flowchart of FIGS. 9G3A and 9G3B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) thatare automatically performed during the state control process of FIG.9F3, which is carried out within the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS.9B and 9C.

At Step A in FIG. 9G3A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 9G3A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49continuously and automatically detects the motion and velocity of anobject being passed through the 3D imaging volume of the station andgenerate data representative thereof. From this data, the local controlsubsystem generates control data for use in controlling the exposureand/or illumination processes at coplanar illumination and imagingstation (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFDsubsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the motion/velocitysensing subsystem provided at each coplanar illumination and imagingstation can capture 2D images of objects within the 3D imaging volume,using ambient lighting or light generated by the (VLD and/or LED)illumination arrays employed in either the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem or within the illumination subsystem. In the eventillumination sources within the illumination subsystem are employed,then these illumination arrays are driven at the lowest possible powerlevel so as to not be visible or conspicuous to consumers who might bestanding at the POS, near the system of the present invention.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 9G2A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State), and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystemfor automatically over-driving “all neighboring” coplanar illuminationand imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem 49 may be permitted to simultaneously collect (duringthe Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) updated object motion andsensing data for dynamically controlling the exposure and illuminationparameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 9G3B, from each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 9G3B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystem 20automatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures each CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 9G3B, upon failure to read at least 1D or2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the time anobject has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation returns to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State atStep B, to collect and update object motion and velocity data (andderive control data for exposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 9H describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 9B and 9C. As shown, this hardware computing andmemory platform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the coplanar illumination and imagingstations and other subsystems described in FIGS. 9G1A through 9G3B. Asshown, the hardware platform comprises: at least one, but preferablymultiple high speed dual core microprocessors, to provide amulti-processor architecture having high bandwidth video-interfaces; anFPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) for managing the digital image streams supplied bythe plurality of digital image capturing and buffering channels, each ofwhich is driven by a coplanar illumination and imaging station (e.g.linear CCD or CMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) inthe system; a robust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM,Flash Memory, SRAM and even a hard-drive persistence memory in someapplications; arrays of VLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping andcollimating/focusing optics; and analog and digital circuitry forrealizing the illumination subsystem; interface board withmicroprocessors and connectors; power supply and distribution circuitry;as well as circuitry for implementing the others subsystems employed inthe system.

FIG. 9I describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 9H, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIGS. 9Band 9C. Details regarding the foundations of this three-tierarchitecture can be found in Applicants' copending U.S. application Ser.No. 11/408,268, incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the MainTask and Subordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the ApplicationLayer would carry out the system and subsystem functionalities describedin the State Control Processes of FIGS. 9G1A through 9G3B, and StateTransition Diagrams of FIGS. 9F1 through 9F3. In an illustrativeembodiment, the Main Task would carry out the basic object motion andvelocity detection operations supported within the 3D imaging volume byeach of the coplanar illumination and imaging subsystems, andSubordinate Task would be called to carry out the bar code readingoperations the information processing channels of those stations thatare configured in their Bar Code Reading State (Mode) of operation.Details of task development will readily occur to those skilled in theart having the benefit of the present invention disclosure.

The Eight Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention

FIG. 10A shows a fifth illustrative embodiment of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofthe present invention 170 installed in the countertop surface of aretail POS station. As shown, the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing based bar code symbol reading system comprises both verticaland horizontal housing sections, each provided with coplanarillumination and imaging stations for aggressively supporting both“pass-through” as well as “presentation” modes of bar code imagecapture.

As shown in greater detail in FIG. 10B, the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system 170comprises: a horizontal section 10 (e.g. 10A, 10B, . . . 10E) forprojecting a first complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planesfrom its horizontal imaging window; and a vertical section 175 thatprojects three vertically-extending spaced-apart coplanar illuminationand imaging planes 55 from its vertical imaging window 176 into the 3Dimaging volume 16 of the system so as to aggressively support a“pass-through” mode of bar code image capture. The primary functions ofeach coplanar illumination and imaging station 15 is to generate andproject coplanar illumination and imaging planes through the imagingwindow and apertures into the 3D imaging volume of the system, andcapture digital linear (1D) digital images along the field of view (FOV)of these illumination and linear imaging planes. These captured linearimages are then buffered and decode-processed using linear (1D) typeimage capturing and processing based bar code reading algorithms, or canbe assembled together to reconstruct 2D images for decode-processingusing 1D/2D image processing based bar code reading techniques.

In general, each coplanar illumination and imaging station 15 employedin the system of FIG. 10B (in both horizontal and vertical sections) canbe realized as a linear array of VLDs or LEDs and associated focusingand cylindrical beam shaping optics (i.e. planar illumination arraysPLIAs) used to generate a substantially planar illumination beam (PLIB)from each station, that is coplanar with the field of view of the linear(1D) image sensing array employed in the station. Details regarding thedesign and construction of planar illumination and imaging module(PLIIMs) can be found in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2incorporated herein by reference.

In FIG. 10C, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system 170 ofFIG. 10B is shown comprising: a complex of coplanar illuminating andlinear imaging stations 15A through 15I, constructed using LED or VLDbased linear illumination arrays and image sensing arrays, as describedhereinabove; an multi-channel multi-processor image processing subsystem20 for supporting automatic image processing based bar code readingalong each coplanar illumination and imaging plane within the system; asoftware-based object recognition subsystem 21, for use in cooperationwith the image processing subsystem 20, and automatically recognizingobjects (such as vegetables and fruit) at the retail POS while beingimaged by the system; an electronic weight scale 22 employing one ormore load cells 23 positioned centrally below the system housing, forrapidly measuring the weight of objects positioned on the windowaperture of the system for weighing, and generating electronic datarepresentative of measured weight of the object; an input/outputsubsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processing subsystem, theelectronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-card reader 27 andElectronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28 (including EAS tagdeactivation block integrated in system housing)s; a wide-area wirelessinterface (WIFI) 31 including RF transceiver and antenna 31A forconnecting to the TCP/IP layer of the Internet as well as one or moreimage storing and processing RDBMS servers 33 (which can receive imageslifted by system for remote processing by the image storing andprocessing servers 33); a BlueTooth® RF 2-way communication interface 35including RF transceivers and antennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth®enabled hand-held scanners, imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and thelike, for control, management, application and diagnostic purposes; anda global control subsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating andmanaging) the operation of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations (i.e. subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and othersubsystems. As shown, each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem15′ transmits frames of image data to the image processing subsystem 25,for state-dependent image processing and the results of the imageprocessing operations are transmitted to the host system via theinput/output subsystem 20.

As shown in FIGS. 10D and 10E, each coplanar illumination and imagingstation employed in the system of FIGS. 10B and 10C comprises: anillumination subsystem 44 including a linear array of VLDs or LEDs andassociated focusing and cylindrical beam shaping optics (i.e. planarillumination arrays PLIAs), for generating a planar illumination beam(PLIB) from the station 15; a linear image formation and detection (IFD)subsystem 40 having a camera controller interface (e.g. FPGA) 40A forinterfacing with local control subsystem 50, and a high-resolutionlinear image sensing array 41 with optics 42 providing a field of view(FOV) on the image sensing array that is coplanar with the PLIB producedby the linear illumination array 41 so as to form and detect lineardigital images of objects within the FOV of the system; a local controlsubsystem 50 for locally controlling the operation of subcomponentswithin the station, in response to control signals generated by globalcontrol subsystem 37 maintained at the system level, shown in FIG. 10B;an image capturing and buffering subsystem 48 for capturing lineardigital images with the linear image sensing array 41 and bufferingthese linear images in buffer memory so as to form 2D digital images fortransfer to image-processing subsystem 20 maintained at the systemlevel, as shown in FIG. 10B, and subsequent image processing accordingto bar code symbol decoding algorithms, OCR algorithms, and/or objectrecognition processes; a high-speed image capturing and processing basedmotion/velocity sensing subsystem 49 for producing motion and velocitydata for supply to the local control subsystem 50 for processing andautomatic generation of control data that is used to control theillumination and exposure parameters of the linear image formation anddetection system within the station. Details regarding the design andconstruction of planar illumination and imaging module (PLIIMs) can befound in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2 incorporated herein byreference.

As shown in FIGS. 10D and 10E, the high-speed motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 can be realized using any of the techniques describedherein so as to generate, in real-time, motion and velocity data forsupply to the local control subsystem 50 for processing and automaticgeneration of control data that is used to control the illumination andexposure parameters of the linear image formation and detectionsubsystem 40 within the station. Alternatively, motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49 can be deployed outside of illumination andimaging station, and positioned globally as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIG. 10F1, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 10B and 10C, running the systemcontrol program described in flow charts of FIGS. 10G1A and 10G1B, withlocally-controlled imaging-based object motion/velocity detectionprovided in each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of thesystem, as illustrated in FIG. 10B. The flow chart of FIGS. 10G1A and10G1B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automaticallyperformed during the state control process of FIG. 10F1, which iscarried out within the omni-directional image capturing and processingbased bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 10B and 10C.

At Step A in FIG. 10G1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 10G1A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49continuously and automatically detects the motion and velocity of anobject being passed through the 3D imaging volume of the station andgenerate data representative thereof. From this data, the local controlsubsystem generates control data for use in controlling the exposureand/or illumination processes at coplanar illumination and imagingstation (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFDsubsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the motion/velocitysensing subsystem 49 provided at each coplanar illumination and imagingstation (or deployed globally in the system) can capture 2D images ofobjects within the 3D imaging volume, using ambient lighting, or usinglighting generated by the (VLD and/or LED) illumination arrays employedin either the object motion/velocity sensing subsystem or within theillumination subsystem. In the event illumination sources within theillumination subsystem are employed, then these illumination sources aredriven at the lowest possible power level so as to not produce effectsthat are visible or conspicuous to the system operator or consumers whomight be standing at the POS, near the system of the present invention.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 10G1A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneously collect (during theImaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) updated object motion and sensingdata for dynamically controlling the exposure and illuminationparameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 10G1B, from each Coplanar Illuminationand Imaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 10G1B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem (for transmission to the host computer), and the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures each Coplanar Illumination and ImagingStation back into its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State and returnsto Step B, so that the system can resume detection of object motion andvelocity within the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 10G1B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, tocollect and update object motion and velocity data (and derive controldata for exposure and/or illumination control).

As shown in FIG. 10F2, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 10B and 10C, running the systemcontrol program described in flow charts of FIGS. 10G2A and 10G2B,employing locally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in eachcoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboring stations. Theflow chart of FIGS. 10G2A and 10G2B describes the operations (i.e.tasks) that are automatically performed during the state control processof FIG. 10F2, which is carried out within the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 10A and 10B.

At Step A in FIG. 10G2A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 10G2A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49continuously and automatically detects the motion and velocity of anobject being passed through the 3D imaging volume of the station andgenerate data representative thereof. From this data, the local controlsubsystem 50 generates control data for use in controlling the exposureand/or illumination processes at coplanar illumination and imagingstation (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFDsubsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 10G2A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State), and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystemfor automatically over-driving “nearest neighboring” coplanarillumination and imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 at the station are preferablydriven at full power. Optionally, in some embodiments, the objectmotion/velocity sensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneouslycollect (during the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) updated objectmotion and velocity data, for use in dynamically controlling theexposure and illumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 10G2B, from each Coplanar Illuminationand Imaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and capturesand buffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 (or a local imageprocessing subsystem in other illustrative embodiments) for processingthese buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar code symbolrepresented in the images. As indicated at Step E of FIG. 10G2B, upon a1D or 2D bar code symbol being successfully read by at least one of theCoplanar Illumination and Imaging Stations in the system, the imageprocessing subsystem automatically generates symbol character datarepresentative of the read bar code symbol, transmits the symbolcharacter data to the input/output subsystem, and the global controlsubsystem then reconfigures each Coplanar Illumination and ImagingStation back into its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State (andreturns to Step B) so that the system can resume automatic detection ofobject motion and velocity within the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 10G2B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control), and then returns to Step B.

As shown in FIG. 10F3, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 10B and 10C, running the systemcontrol program described in flow charts of FIGS. 10G3A and 10G3B,employing locally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in eachcoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem of the system, withglobally-controlled over-driving of all-neighboring stations. The flowchart of FIGS. 10G3A and 10G3B describes the operations (i.e. tasks)that are automatically performed during the state control process ofFIG. 10F3, which is carried out within the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 10B and 10C.

At Step A in FIG. 10G3A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Coplanar Illumination and Imaging Station employedtherein in its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 10G3A, at each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station currently configured in its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49continuously and automatically detects the motion and velocity of anobject being passed through the 3D imaging volume of the station andgenerate data representative thereof. From this data, the local controlsubsystem 50 generates control data for use in controlling the exposureand/or illumination processes at coplanar illumination and imagingstation (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFDsubsystem).

During the Object Motion/Velocity Detection State, the motion/velocitysensing subsystem provided at each coplanar illumination and imagingstation can capture 2D images of objects within the 3D imaging volume,using ambient lighting or light generated by the (VLD and/or LED)illumination arrays employed in either the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem or within the illumination subsystem. In the eventillumination sources within the illumination subsystem are employed,then these illumination arrays are driven at the lowest possible powerlevel so as to not be visible or conspicuous to consumers who might bestanding at the POS, near the system of the present invention.

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 10G2A, for each Coplanar Illumination andImaging Station that automatically detects an object moving through orwithin its Imaging-based Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, itslocal control subsystem 50 automatically configures the CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station into its Imaging-Based Bar Code ReadingMode (State), and transmits “state data” to the global control subsystemfor automatically over-driving “all neighboring” coplanar illuminationand imaging subsystems into their Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be simultaneously permitted to capture 2D imagesand process these images to continuously compute updated object motionand sensing data for dynamically controlling the exposure andillumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 10G3B, from each Coplanar Illuminationand Imaging Station currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar CodeSymbol Reading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 10G3B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Coplanar Illumination andImaging Stations in the System, the image processing subsystemautomatically generates symbol character data representative of the readbar code symbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures each CoplanarIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 10G3B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the coplanar illumination and imagingstation to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, tocollect and update object motion and velocity data (and derive controldata for exposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 10H describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 10B and 10C. As shown, this hardware computing andmemory platform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the coplanar or coextensive-areaillumination and imaging stations and other subsystems described inFIGS. 10G1A through 10G3B. As shown, the hardware platform comprises: atleast one, but preferably multiple high speed dual core microprocessors,to provide a multi-processor architecture having high bandwidthvideo-interfaces; an FPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) for managing the digitalimage streams supplied by the plurality of digital image capturing andbuffering channels, each of which is driven by a coplanar orcoextensive-area illumination and imaging station (e.g. linear CCD orCMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) in the system; arobust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM, Flash Memory, SRAMand even a hard-drive persistence memory in some applications; arrays ofVLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping and collimating/focusingoptics; and analog and digital circuitry for realizing the illuminationsubsystem; interface board with microprocessors and connectors; powersupply and distribution circuitry; as well as circuitry for implementingthe others subsystems employed in the system.

FIG. 10I describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 10H, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIGS. 10Band 10C. Details regarding the foundations of this three-tierarchitecture can be found in Applicants' copending U.S. application Ser.No. 11/408,268, incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the MainTask and Subordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the ApplicationLayer would carry out the system and subsystem functionalities describedin the State Control Processes of FIG. 10G1A through 10G3B, and StateTransition Diagrams of FIGS. 10F1 through 10F3. In an illustrativeembodiment, the Main Task would carry out the basic object motion andvelocity detection operations supported within the 3D imaging volume byeach of the coplanar illumination and imaging subsystems, andSubordinate Task would be called to carry out the bar code readingoperations the information processing channels of those stations thatare configured in their Bar Code Reading State (Mode) of operation.Details of task development will readily occur to those skilled in theart having the benefit of the present invention disclosure.

The Sixth Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention

FIG. 11 shows a sixth illustrative embodiment of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofthe present invention 180 comprising both a horizontal housing sectionwith coplanar linear illumination and imaging stations, and a verticalhousing section 181 with a pair of laterally-spaced area-typeillumination and imaging stations 181A, 181B, for aggressivelysupporting both “pass-through” as well as “presentation” modes of barcode image capture.

As shown in greater detail in FIG. 11A, the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system 180comprises: a horizontal section 10 as substantially shown in FIG. 2(e.g. as shown in FIGS. 2, 6, 7, 8A, and 8B) for projecting a firstcomplex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes from its horizontalimaging window; and a vertical section 180 that projects twospaced-apart area-type illumination and imaging zones 182A and 182B fromits vertical imaging window 183 into the 3D imaging volume 16 of thesystem so as to aggressively support both “pass-through” as well as“presentation” modes of bar code image capture. The primary functions ofeach coplanar laser illumination and imaging station 15 is to generateand project coplanar illumination and imaging planes through the imagingwindow and apertures into the 3D imaging volume of the system, andcapture digital linear (1D) digital images along the field of view (FOV)of these illumination and linear-imaging planes. These captured linearimages are then buffered and decode-processed using linear (1D) typeimage capturing and processing based bar code reading algorithms, or canbe assembled together to reconstruct 2D images for decode-processingusing 1D/2D image processing based bar code reading techniques. Theprimary functions of each area-type illumination and imaging station181A, 181B is to generate and project area illumination through thevertical imaging window into the 3D imaging volume of the system, andcapture digital linear (2D) digital images along the field of view (FOV)of these area-type illumination and linear-imaging zones. These captured2D images are then buffered and decode-processed using (2D) type imagecapturing and processing based bar code reading algorithms.

In FIG. 11A, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 11is shown comprising: a complex of coplanar linear and area typeilluminating and imaging stations 181A through 181B, constructed usingLED or VLD based area-type illumination arrays and image sensing arrays,as described hereinabove; a multi-processor image processing subsystem20 for supporting automatic image processing based bar code readingalong each coplanar illumination and imaging plane within the system; asoftware-based object recognition subsystem 21, for use in cooperationwith the image processing subsystem 20, and automatically recognizingobjects (such as vegetables and fruit) at the retail POS while beingimaged by the system; an electronic weight scale 22 employing one ormore load cells 23 positioned centrally below the system housing, forrapidly measuring the weight of objects positioned on the windowaperture of the system for weighing, and generating electronic datarepresentative of measured weight of the object; an input/outputsubsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processing subsystem, theelectronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-card reader 27 andElectronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28 (including EAS tagdeactivation block integrated in system housing)s; a wide-area wirelessinterface (WIFI) 31 including RF transceiver and antenna 31A forconnecting to the TCP/IP layer of the Internet as well as one or moreimage storing and processing RDBMS servers 33 (which can receive imageslifted by system for remote processing by the image storing andprocessing servers 33); a BlueTooth® RF 2-way communication interface 35including RF transceivers and antennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth®enabled hand-held scanners, imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and thelike, for control, management, application and diagnostic purposes; anda global control subsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating andmanaging) the operation of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations (i.e. subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and othersubsystems. As shown, each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem15 transmits frames of image data to the image processing subsystem 25,for state-dependent image processing and the results of the imageprocessing operations are transmitted to the host system via theinput/output subsystem 20.

In general, each coplanar linear illumination and imaging stationemployed in the system of FIGS. 11B1 and 11B2 can be realized as alinear array of VLDs or LEDs and associated focusing and cylindricalbeam shaping optics (i.e. planar illumination arrays PLIAs) to generatea substantially planar illumination beam (PLIB) from each station, thatis coplanar with the field of view of the linear (1D) image sensingarray employed in the station. Details regarding the design andconstruction of planar illumination and imaging module (PLIIMs) can befound in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2 incorporated herein byreference. Also, each coplanar area-type illumination and imagingstation employed in the system of FIGS. 11B1 and 11B2 can be realized asan array of VLDs or LEDs and associated focusing and beam shaping opticsto generate an wide-area illumination beam from each station, that isspatially-coextensive with the field of view of the area (2D) imagesensing array employed in the station. Details regarding the design andconstruction of area-type illumination and imaging modules can be foundin Applicants' U.S. application Ser. No. 10/712,787, incorporated hereinby reference.

As shown in FIG. 11B1, the subsystem architecture of a single coplanarlinear illumination and imaging station employed in the systemembodiment of FIG. 11A is shown comprising: a pair of planarillumination arrays (PLIAs) for producing a composite PLIB; a linearimage formation and detection (IFD) subsystem 40 including a linear 1Dimage sensing array 41 having 42 optics that provides a field of view(FOV) that is coplanar with the PLIB produced by the linear illuminationarray; an image capturing and buffering subsystem 48 for bufferinglinear images captured by the linear image sensing array andreconstructing a 2D images therefrom in the buffer for subsequentprocessing; a high-speed object motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49 asdescribed above, for collecting motion and velocity data on objectsmoving through the 3D imaging volume and supplying this data to thelocal control subsystem 50 to produce control data for controllingexposure and/or illumination related parameters (e,g. frequency of theclock signal used to read out frames of image data captured by thelinear image sensing array in the IFD subsystem 40); and local controlsubsystem 50 for controlling operations with the coplanar illuminationand imaging subsystem 15 and responsive to control signals generated bythe global control subsystem 37.

Also, as shown in FIG. 11B2, each area-type illumination and imagingstation 181A, 181B employed in the system of FIG. 11A can be realizedas: an area-type image formation and detection (IFD) subsystem 40′including an area 2D image sensing array 41′ having optics 42′ thatprovides a field of view (FOV) on the sensing array 41′; an illuminationsubsystem 44 including a pair of spaced apart linear arrays of LEDs 44A,44B and associated focusing optics for producing a substantially uniformarea of illumination that is coextensive with the FOV of the area-typeimage sensing array 41′; an image capturing and buffering subsystem 48for buffering 2D images captured by the area image sensing array forsubsequent processing; a high-speed object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem 49 as described above, for collecting motion and velocity dataon objects moving through the 3D imaging volume and supplying this datato the local control subsystem 50 to produce control data forcontrolling exposure and/or illumination related parameters (e,g.frequency of the clock signal used to read out frames of image datacaptured by the linear image sensing array in the IFD subsystem 40′);and local control subsystem 50 for controlling operations with thecoplanar illumination and imaging subsystem 181A,181B, and responsive tocontrol signals generated by the global control subsystem 37.

As shown in FIG. 11C1, the high-speed object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem 49 is arranged for use with the linear-type image formationand detection subsystem 15 in the linear-type image illumination andimaging station 15, and can be realized using any of the techniquesdescribed hereinabove, so as to generate, in real-time, motion andvelocity data for supply to the local control subsystem 50. In turn, thelocal control subsystem 50 processes and generates control data forcontrolling the illumination and exposure parameters of the linear imagesensing array 41 employed in the linear image formation and detectionsystem within the station. Alternatively, motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 can be deployed outside of illumination and imagingstation, and positioned globally as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIG. 11C2, the high-speed object motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 is arranged for use with the area-type image formation anddetection subsystem 40′ in the area-type image illumination and imagingstation 181A, 181B, and can be realized using ay of the techniquesdescribed hereinabove so as to generate, in real-time, motion andvelocity data for supply to the local control subsystem 50. In turn, thelocal control subsystem 50 processes and generates control data that forcontrolling the illumination and exposure parameters of the area imagesensing array 41′ employed in the area-type image formation anddetection system within the station. Alternatively, motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49 can be deployed outside of illumination andimaging station 181A, 181B, and positioned globally as shown in FIGS. 8Aand 8B.

As shown in FIG. 11D1, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 11A, running the system control programdescribed in flow charts of FIGS. 11E1A and 11E1B, withlocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection provided in eachillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, as illustrated in FIG.11A. The flow chart of FIGS. 11E1A and 11E1B describes the operations(i.e. tasks) that are automatically performed during the state controlprocess of FIG. 11D1, which is carried out within the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 11 and 11A.

At Step A in FIG. 11E1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 11E1A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslyand automatically detects the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generates datarepresentative thereof. From this motion and velocity data, the localcontrol subsystem 50 generates control data for use in controlling theexposure and/or illumination processes at coplanar illumination andimaging station (e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFDsubsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 11E1A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystems are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem 49 can be permitted to simultaneously compute updatedobject motion and sensing data for dynamically controlling the exposureand illumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 11E1B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 11E1B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the System, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem (for transmission to the host computer), and the globalcontrol subsystem reconfigures each Illumination and Imaging Stationback into its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State and returns to StepB, so that the system can resume detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 11E1B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationreturns to its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, tocollect and update object motion and velocity data (and derive controldata for exposure and/or illumination control).

As shown in FIG. 11D2, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 11 and 11A, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 11E1A and 11E2B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each illuminationand imaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlledover-driving of nearest-neighboring stations. The flow chart of FIGS.11E2A and 11E2B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that areautomatically performed during the state control process of FIG. 11D2,which is carried out within the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing based bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 11and 11A.

At Step A in FIG. 11E2A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 11E2A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 automaticallydetects the motion and velocity of an object being passed through the 3Dimaging volume of the station and generates data representative thereof.From this data, the local control subsystem generates control data foruse in controlling the exposure and/or illumination processes atcoplanar illumination and imaging station (e.g. the frequency of theclock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 11E2A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), and transmits “statedata” to the global control subsystem for automatically over-driving“nearest neighboring” coplanar illumination and imaging subsystems intotheir Bar Code Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 (44′) at the station arepreferably driven at full power. Optionally, in some applications, theobject motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 may be permitted tosimultaneously collect (during the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading State)updated object motion and velocity data, for use in dynamicallycontrolling the exposure and illumination parameters of the IFDSubsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 11E2B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detected objectwith laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and captures andbuffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed 2Dimages to the global image processing subsystem 20 (or a local imageprocessing subsystem in alternative embodiments) for processing thesebuffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar code symbol represented inthe images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 11E2B, upon a 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the system, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem then reconfigures eachIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State (and returns to Step B) so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 11E2B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationto its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, to collect and updateobject motion and velocity data (and derive control data for exposureand/or illumination control), and then returns to Step B.

As shown in FIG. 11D3, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 11 and 11A, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 11E3A and 11E3B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each illuminationand imaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlledover-driving of all-neighboring stations. The flow chart of FIGS. 11E3Aand 11E3B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automaticallyperformed during the state control process of FIG. 11D3, which iscarried out within the omni-directional image capturing and processingbased bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 11B1 through11C.

At Step A in FIG. 11E3A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 11E3A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslydetects the motion and velocity of an object being passed through the 3Dimaging volume of the station and generate data representative thereof.From this data, the local control subsystem generates control data foruse in controlling the exposure and/or illumination processes atillumination and imaging station (e.g. the frequency of the clock signalused in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 11E3A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), and transmits “statedata” to the global control subsystem for automatically over-driving“all neighboring” illumination and imaging subsystems into their BarCode Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 (44′) are preferably driven atfull power. Optionally, in some embodiments, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem 49 may be simultaneously permitted to collect updatedobject motion and sensing data for dynamically controlling the exposureand illumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 11E3B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 11E3B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the System, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures eachIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 11E3B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationto its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 11F describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIG. 11. As shown, this hardware computing and memoryplatform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the illumination and imaging stations andother subsystems described in FIG. 11. As shown, the hardware platformcomprises: at least one, but preferably multiple high speed dual coremicroprocessors, to provide a multi-processor architecture having highbandwidth video-interfaces; an FPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) for managing thedigital image streams supplied by the plurality of digital imagecapturing and buffering channels, each of which is driven by a coplanaror coextensive-area illumination and imaging station (e.g. linear CCD orCMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) in the system; arobust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM, Flash Memory, SRAMand even a hard-drive persistence memory in some applications; arrays ofVLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping and collimating/focusingoptics; and analog and digital circuitry for realizing the illuminationsubsystem; interface board with microprocessors and connectors; powersupply and distribution circuitry; as well as circuitry for implementingthe others subsystems employed in the system.

FIG. 11G describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 11F, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIG. 11.Details regarding the foundations of this three-tier architecture can befound in Applicants' copending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/408,268,incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the Main Task andSubordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the Application Layerwould carry out the system and subsystem functionalities described inthe State Control Processes of FIGS. 11E1A through 11E3B, and StateTransition Diagrams of FIG. 11D1 through 11D3. In an illustrativeembodiment, the Main Task would carry out the basic object motion andvelocity detection operations supported within the 3D imaging volume byeach of the illumination and imaging subsystems, and Subordinate Taskwould be called to carry out the bar code reading operations theinformation processing channels of those stations that are configured intheir Bar Code Reading State (Mode) of operation. Details of taskdevelopment will readily occur to those skilled in the art having thebenefit of the present invention disclosure.

The Seventh Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention

FIG. 12 shows a sixth illustrative embodiment of the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system ofthe present invention 200 comprising a horizontal housing section with acomplex of coplanar linear illumination and imaging stations, and also apair of laterally-spaced area-type illumination and imaging stations,for aggressively supporting both “pass-through” as well as“presentation” modes of bar code image capture.

As shown in greater detail in FIGS. 12 and 12A, the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system 200comprises: a horizontal section 10 (e.g. 10A, . . . or 10E) forprojecting a first complex of coplanar illumination and imaging planesfrom its horizontal imaging window; and two spaced-apart area-typeillumination and imaging zones 182A and 182B from imagers 181A and 181Binto the 3D imaging volume 16 of the system, so as to aggressivelysupport both “pass-through” as well as “presentation” modes of bar codeimage capture. The primary functions of each coplanar laser illuminationand imaging station 15 is to generate and project coplanar illuminationand imaging planes through the imaging window and apertures into the 3Dimaging volume of the system, and capture digital linear (1D) digitalimages along the field of view (FOV) of these illumination and linearimaging planes. These captured linear images are then buffered anddecode-processed using linear (1D) type image capturing and processingbased bar code reading algorithms, or can be assembled together toreconstruct 2D images for decode-processing using 1D/2D image processingbased bar code reading techniques. The primary functions of eacharea-type illumination and imaging station 181A,181B is to generate andproject area illumination through the vertical imaging window into the3D imaging volume of the system, and capture digital linear (2D) digitalimages along the field of view (FOV) of these area-type illumination andlinear-imaging zones. These captured 2D images are then buffered anddecode-processed using (2D) type image capturing and processing basedbar code reading algorithms.

In FIG. 12A, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 12is shown comprising: a complex of coplanar linear and area typeilluminating and imaging stations 15A through 15F, 181A and 181Bconstructed using LED or VLD based illumination arrays and image sensingarrays (e.g. CCD or CMOS type), as described hereinabove; anmulti-channel multi-processor image processing subsystem 20 forsupporting automatic image processing based bar code reading along eachcoplanar illumination and imaging plane within the system; asoftware-based object recognition subsystem 21, for use in cooperationwith the image processing subsystem 20, and automatically recognizingobjects (such as vegetables and fruit) at the retail POS while beingimaged by the system; an electronic weight scale 22 employing one ormore load cells 23 positioned centrally below the system housing, forrapidly measuring the weight of objects positioned on the windowaperture of the system for weighing, and generating electronic datarepresentative of measured weight of the object; an input/outputsubsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processing subsystem, theelectronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-card reader 27 andElectronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28 (including EAS tagdeactivation block integrated in system housing)s; a wide-area wirelessinterface (WIFI) 31 including RF transceiver and antenna 31A forconnecting to the TCP/IP layer of the Internet as well as one or moreimage storing and processing RDBMS servers 33 (which can receive imageslifted by system for remote processing by the image storing andprocessing servers 33); a BlueTooth® RF 2-way communication interface 35including RF transceivers and antennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth®enabled hand-held scanners, imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and thelike, for control, management, application and diagnostic purposes; anda global control subsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating andmanaging) the operation of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations (i.e. subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and othersubsystems. As shown, each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem15′ transmits frames of image data to the image processing subsystem 25,for state-dependent image processing and the results of the imageprocessing operations are transmitted to the host system via theinput/output subsystem 20.

In general, each coplanar linear illumination and imaging stationemployed in the system of FIG. 12 can be realized as a linear array ofVLDs or LEDs and associated focusing and cylindrical beam shaping optics(i.e. planar illumination arrays PLIAs) to generate a substantiallyplanar illumination beam (PLIB) from each station, that is coplanar withthe field of view of the linear (1D) image sensing array employed in thestation. Details regarding the design and construction of planarillumination and imaging module (PLIIMs) can be found in Applicants'U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2 incorporated herein by reference. Also, eacharea-type illumination and imaging station employed in the system ofFIG. 12 can be realized as an array of VLDs or LEDs and associatedfocusing and beam shaping optics to generate an wide-area illuminationbeam from each station, that is spatially-coextensive with the field ofview of the area (2D) image sensing array employed in the station.Details regarding the design and construction of area-type illuminationand imaging module can be found in Applicants' U.S. application Ser. No.10/712,787 incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIG. 12B1, the subsystem architecture of a single coplanarlinear illumination and imaging station 15 employed in the systemembodiment of FIG. 12A is shown comprising: an illumination subsystem 44including a pair of planar illumination arrays (PLIAs) 44A for producinga composite PLIB; a linear image formation and detection (IFD) subsystem40 including a linear 1D image sensing array 41 having optics 42 thatprovides a field of view (FOV) that is coplanar with the PLIB producedby the linear illumination array; an image capturing and bufferingsubsystem 48 for buffering linear images captured by the linear imagesensing array and reconstructing a 2D images therefrom in the buffer forsubsequent processing; a high-speed object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem 49 as described above for collecting object motion andvelocity data for use in the real-time controlling of exposure and/orillumination related parameters (e,g. frequency of the clock signal usedto read out frames of image data captured by the linear image sensingarray in the IFD subsystem); and local control subsystem 50 forcontrolling operations with the coplanar illumination and imagingsubsystem 15, and responsive to control signals generated by the globalcontrol subsystem 37.

Also, as shown in FIG. 12B2, each area-type illumination and imagingstation employed in the system of FIG. 12A can be realized as: anarea-type image formation and detection (IFD) subsystem 40′ including anarea 2D image sensing array 41′ having optics 42′ that provides a fieldof view (FOV) on the area image sensing array 41′; an illuminationsubsystem 44 including a pair of spaced apart linear arrays of LEDs 44A′and associated focusing optics for producing a substantially uniformarea of illumination that is coextensive with the FOV of the area-typeimage sensing array 41′; an image capturing and buffering subsystem 48for buffering 2D images captured by the area image sensing array forsubsequent processing; a high-speed object motion/velocity sensingsubsystem 49 as described above for collecting object motion andvelocity data for use in the real-time controlling of exposure and/orillumination related parameters (e,g. frequency of the clock signal usedto read out frames of image data captured by the linear image sensingarray in the IFD subsystem); and local control subsystem 50 forcontrolling operations with the illumination and imaging subsystem 181A,181B, and responsive to control signals generated by the global controlsubsystem 37.

As shown in FIGS. 12C1, the high-speed motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 is arranged for use with the linear-type image formationand detection subsystem 40 in the linear-type image illumination andimaging station 15, and can be realized using any of the techniquesdescribed hereinabove, so as to generate, in real-time, motion andvelocity data for supply to the local control subsystem for processingand automatic generation of control data that is used to control theillumination and exposure parameters of the linear image sensing array41 employed in the linear image formation and detection system withinthe station. Alternatively, motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 canbe deployed outside of illumination and imaging station, and positionedglobally as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIGS. 12C2, the high-speed object motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 is arranged for use with the area-type image formation anddetection subsystem 40′ in the area-type image illumination and imagingstation 181A,181B, and can be realized using any of the techniquesdescribed hereinabove so as to generate, in real-time, motion andvelocity data for supply to the local control subsystem 50. In turn thelocal control subsystem processes and automatic generates control datafor controlling the illumination and exposure parameters of the areaimage sensing array 41′ employed in the area-type image formation anddetection system within the station. Alternatively, motion/velocitydetection subsystem 49 can be deployed outside of illumination andimaging station, and positioned globally as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIG. 12D 1, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 12A, running the system control programdescribed in flow charts of FIGS. 12E1A and 12E1B, withlocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection provided in eachillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, as illustrated in FIG.12A. The flow chart of FIGS. 12E1A and 12E1B describes the operations(i.e. tasks) that are automatically performed during the state controlprocess of FIG. 12D1, which is carried out within the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 12 and 12A.

At Step A in FIG. 12E1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 12E1A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslyand automatically detects the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generates datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystem 50generates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 12E1A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 (44′) are preferably driven atfull power. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem 49 is simultaneously permitted to capture 2D imagesand process these images to continuously compute updated object motionand sensing data for dynamically controlling the exposure andillumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 12E1B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 12E1B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the System, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem (for transmission to the host computer), and the globalcontrol subsystem reconfigures each Illumination and Imaging Stationback into its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State and returns to StepB, so that the system can resume detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 12E1B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the illumination and imaging station toits Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, to collect andupdate object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control).

As shown in FIG. 12D2, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 12 and 12A, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 12E1A and 12E2B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each illuminationand imaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlledover-driving of nearest-neighboring stations (into their Bar CodeReading State of operation). The flow chart of FIGS. 12E2A and 12E2Bdescribes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 12D2, which is carried outwithin the omni-directional image capturing and processing based barcode symbol reading system described in FIGS. 12 and 12A.

At Step A in FIG. 12E2A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 12E2A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslyand automatically detects the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 12E2A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), and transmits “statedata” to the global control subsystem for automatically over-driving“nearest neighboring” coplanar illumination and imaging subsystems intotheir Bar Code Reading State of operation.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 (44′) at the station arepreferably driven at full power. Optionally, in some applications, theobject motion/velocity detection subsystem may be permitted tosimultaneously collect (during the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading State)updated object motion and velocity data, for use in dynamicallycontrolling the exposure and illumination parameters of the IFDSubsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 12E2B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detected objectwith laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and captures andbuffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed 2Dimages to the global multi-processor image processing subsystem 20 (or alocal image processing subsystem in alternative embodiments) forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 12E2B, upon a 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the system, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem then reconfigures eachIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State (and returns to Step B) so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 12E2B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem reconfigures the illumination and imaging station toits Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, to collect and updateobject motion and velocity data (and derive control data for exposureand/or illumination control), and then returns to Step B.

As shown in FIG. 12D3, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 12 and 12A, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 12E3A and 12E3B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each illuminationand imaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlledover-driving of all-neighboring stations. The flow chart of FIGS. 12E3Aand 12E3B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automaticallyperformed during the state control process of FIG. 12D3, which iscarried out within the omni-directional image capturing and processingbased bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 12 and 12A.

At Step A in FIG. 12E3A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 12E3A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslydetects the motion and velocity of an object being passed through the 3Dimaging volume of the station and generate data representative thereof.From this data, the local control subsystem generates control data foruse in controlling the exposure and/or illumination processes atillumination and imaging station (e.g. the frequency of the clock signalused in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 12E3A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), and transmits “statedata” to the global control subsystem for automatically over-driving“all neighboring” illumination and imaging subsystems into their BarCode Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 (44′) are preferably driven atfull power. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneously collect (during theImaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) updated object motion and sensingdata for dynamically controlling the exposure and illuminationparameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 12E3B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global multi-processor image processingsubsystem 20 for processing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or2D bar code symbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 12E3B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the System, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem 25, and the global control subsystem 37 reconfigures eachIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 12E3B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationto its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 12F describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIG. 12. As shown, this hardware computing and memoryplatform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the illumination and imaging stations andother subsystems described in FIGS. 12A and 12A. As shown, the hardwareplatform comprises: at least one, but preferably multiple high speeddual core microprocessors, to provide a multi-processor architecturehaving high bandwidth video-interfaces; an FPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) formanaging the digital image streams supplied by the plurality of digitalimage capturing and buffering channels, each of which is driven by acoplanar or coextensive-area illumination and imaging station (e.g.linear CCD or CMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) inthe system; a robust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM,Flash Memory, SRAM and even a hard-drive persistence memory in someapplications; arrays of VLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping andcollimating/focusing optics; and analog and digital circuitry forrealizing the illumination subsystem; interface board withmicroprocessors and connectors; power supply and distribution circuitry;as well as circuitry for implementing the others subsystems employed inthe system.

FIG. 12G describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 12F, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIG. 12.Details regarding the foundations of this three-tier architecture can befound in Applicants' copending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/408,268,incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the Main Task andSubordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the Application Layerwould carry out the system and subsystem functionalities described inthe State Control Processes of FIG. 12E1A through 12E3B, and StateTransition Diagrams of FIGS. 12D1 and 12D3. In an illustrativeembodiment, the Main Task would carry out the basic object motion andvelocity detection operations supported within the 3D imaging volume byeach of the illumination and imaging subsystems, and Subordinate Taskwould be called to carry out the bar code reading operations theinformation processing channels of those stations that are configured intheir Bar Code Reading State (Mode) of operation. Details of taskdevelopment will readily occur to those skilled in the art having thebenefit of the present invention disclosure.

The Eighth Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an eighth illustrative embodiment ofthe omni-directional image capturing and processing based bar codesymbol reading system 200 of the present invention, shown comprisingboth a horizontal housing section with coplanar linear illumination andimaging stations, and a vertical housing section with a pair oflaterally-spaced area-type illumination and imaging stations and acoplanar linear illumination and imaging station, for aggressivelysupporting both “pass-through” as well as “presentation” modes of barcode image capture;

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 13A, the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing based bar code symbol reading system 200 comprises: ahorizontal section 10 (e.g. 10A, . . . . 10E shown in FIGS. 2, 6A, 6B,7, 8A and 8B) for projecting a first complex of coplanar illuminationand imaging planes from its horizontal imaging window; and a verticalsection 205 that projects two spaced-apart area-type illumination andimaging zones 206A and 206B and a single horizontally-extending coplanarillumination and imaging plane 55 from its vertical imaging window 207into the 3D imaging volume of the system so as to aggressively supportboth “pass-through” as well as “presentation” modes of bar code imagecapture. The primary functions of each coplanar laser illumination andimaging station 15 in the system is to generate and project coplanarillumination and imaging planes through the imaging window and aperturesinto the 3D imaging volume of the system, and capture digital linear(1D) digital images along the field of view (FOV) of these illuminationand linear imaging planes. These captured linear images are thenbuffered and decode-processed using linear (1D) type image capturing andprocessing based bar code reading algorithms, or can be assembledtogether to reconstruct 2D images for decode-processing using 1D/2Dimage processing based bar code reading techniques. The primaryfunctions of each area-type illumination and imaging station 181A, 181Bemployed in the system is to generate and project area illuminationthrough the vertical imaging window into the 3D imaging volume of thesystem, and capture digital linear (2D) digital images along the fieldof view (FOV) of these area-type illumination and linear-imaging zones.These captured 2D images are then buffered and decode-processed using(2D) type image capturing and processing based bar code readingalgorithms.

In FIG. 13A, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system of FIG. 13is shown comprising: a complex of coplanar linear and area typeilluminating and imaging stations 15A through 15F and 181A, and 181Bconstructed using LED or VLD based illumination arrays and (CMOS or CCD)image sensing arrays, as described hereinabove; an multi-channelmulti-processor image processing subsystem 20 for supporting automaticimage processing based bar code reading along each coplanar illuminationand imaging plane within the system; a software-based object recognitionsubsystem 21, for use in cooperation with the image processing subsystem20, and automatically recognizing objects (such as vegetables and fruit)at the retail POS while being imaged by the system; an electronic weightscale 22 employing one or more load cells 23 positioned centrally belowthe system housing, for rapidly measuring the weight of objectspositioned on the window aperture of the system for weighing, andgenerating electronic data representative of measured weight of theobject; an input/output subsystem 28 for interfacing with the imageprocessing subsystem, the electronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26,credit-card reader 27 and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS)Subsystem 28 (including EAS tag deactivation block integrated in systemhousing)s; a wide-area wireless interface (WIFI) 31 including RFtransceiver and antenna 31A for connecting to the TCP/IP layer of theInternet as well as one or more image storing and processing RDBMSservers 33 (which can receive images lifted by system for remoteprocessing by the image storing and processing servers 33); a BlueTooth®RF 2-way communication interface 35 including RF transceivers andantennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth® enabled hand-held scanners,imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and the like, for control,management, application and diagnostic purposes; and a global controlsubsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating and managing) theoperation of the coplanar illumination and imaging stations (i.e.subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and other subsystems. As shown,each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem 15 transmits frames ofimage data to the image processing subsystem 25, for state-dependentimage processing and the results of the image processing operations aretransmitted to the host system via the input/output subsystem 20.

In general, each coplanar linear illumination and imaging stationemployed in the system of FIG. 13B1 can be realized as a linear array ofVLDs or LEDs and associated focusing and cylindrical beam shaping optics(i.e. planar illumination arrays PLIAs) to generate a substantiallyplanar illumination beam (PLIB) from each station, that is coplanar withthe field of view of the linear (1D) image sensing array employed in thestation. Details regarding the design and construction of planarillumination and imaging module (PLIIMs) can be found in Applicants'U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2 incorporated herein by reference. Also, eacharea-type illumination and imaging station employed in the system ofFIG. 13B2 can be realized as an array of VLDs or LEDs and associatedfocusing and beam shaping optics to generate an wide-area illuminationbeam from each station, that is spatially-coextensive with the field ofview of the area (2D) image sensing array employed in the station.Details regarding the design and construction of area-type illuminationand imaging module can be found in Applicants' U.S. application Ser. No.10/712,787 incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIG. 13B1, the subsystem architecture of a single coplanarlinear illumination and imaging station 15 employed in the systemembodiment of FIG. 13A is shown comprising: an illumination subsystem 44including a pair of planar illumination arrays (PLIAs) 44A and 44B forproducing a composite PLIB; a linear image formation and detection (IFD)subsystem 40 including a linear 1D image sensing array 41 having optics42 that provides a field of view (FOV) on the image sensing array thatis coplanar with the PLIB produced by the linear illumination array; animage capturing and buffering subsystem 48 for buffering linear imagescaptured by the linear image sensing array and reconstructing a 2Dimages therefrom in the buffer for subsequent processing; a high-speedobject motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49 as described above forcollecting object motion and velocity data for use in the real-timecontrolling of exposure and/or illumination related parameters (e.g.frequency of the clock signal used to read out frames of image datacaptured by the linear image sensing array in the IFD subsystem); andlocal control subsystem 50 for controlling operations with the coplanarillumination and imaging subsystem 15, and responsive to control signalsgenerated by the global control subsystem 37.

Also, as shown in FIG. 13B2, each area-type illumination and imagingstation employed in the system of FIG. 13A can be realized as: anarea-type image formation and detection (IFD) subsystem an IFD subsystem40 including an area 2D image sensing array 41′ having optics 42′ thatprovides a field of view (FOV) on the image sensing array 41′; anillumination subsystem 44′ including a pair of spaced apart lineararrays of LEDs 44A′ and 44B′ and associated focusing optics forproducing a substantially uniform area of illumination that iscoextensive with the FOV of the area-type image sensing array 41′; animage capturing and buffering subsystem 48 for buffering 2D imagescaptured by the area image sensing array for subsequent processing; ahigh-speed object motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49 as describedabove, for collecting object motion and velocity data for use in thereal-time controlling of exposure and/or illumination related parameters(e,g. frequency of the clock signal used to read out frames of imagedata captured by the linear image sensing array in the IFD subsystem);and local control subsystem 50 for controlling operations with theillumination and imaging subsystem 181A,181B, and responsive to controlsignals generated by the global control subsystem 37.

As shown in FIGS. 13C1, the high-speed object motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 is arranged for use with the linear-type image formationand detection subsystem 40 in the linear-type image illumination andimaging station 15, can be realized using any of the techniquesdescribed hereinabove so as to generate, in real-time, motion andvelocity data for supply to the local control subsystem 50. In turn, thelocal control subsystem processes and generates control data forcontrolling the illumination and exposure parameters of the linear imagesensing array 41 employed in the linear image formation and detectionsystem within the station 15. Alternatively, motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 can be deployed outside of illumination and imagingstation, and positioned globally as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIGS. 13C2, the high-speed object motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 is arranged for use with the area-type image formation anddetection subsystem 40′ in the area-type image illumination and imagingstation 181A, 181B, and can be realized using any of the techniquesdescribed hereinabove, so as to generate, in real-time, motion andvelocity data for supply to the local control subsystem 50. In turn, thelocal control subsystem processes and generates control data forcontrolling the illumination and exposure parameters of the area imagesensing array 41′ employed in the area-type image formation anddetection system within the station 181A, 181B. Alternatively,motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 can be deployed outside ofillumination and imaging station, and positioned globally as shown inFIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIG. 13D1, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 13A, running the system control programdescribed in flow charts of FIGS. 13E1A and 13E1B, withlocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection provided in eachillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, as illustrated in FIG.13A. The flow chart of FIGS. 13E1A and 13E1B describes the operations(i.e. tasks) that are automatically performed during the state controlprocess of FIG. 13D1, which is carried out within the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 13 and 13A.

At Step A in FIG. 13E1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 13E1A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslyand automatically detects the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generates datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 13E1A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 (44′) are preferably driven atfull power. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneously collect (during theImaging-Based Bar Code Reading State), updated object motion and sensingdata for dynamically controlling the exposure and illuminationparameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 13E1B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 13E1B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the System, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem (for transmission to the host computer), and the globalcontrol subsystem reconfigures each Illumination and Imaging Stationback into its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State and returns to StepB, so that the system can resume detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 13E1B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem reconfigures the illumination and imaging station toits Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, to collect andupdate object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control). As shown in FIG. 13D2, a statetransition diagram is provided for the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS.13 and 13A, running the system control program described in flow chartsof FIGS. 13E1A and 13E2B, employing locally-controlled objectmotion/velocity detection in each illumination and imaging subsystem ofthe system, with globally-controlled over-driving of nearest-neighboringstations (into their Bar Code Reading State of operation). The flowchart of FIGS. 13E2A and 13E2B describes the operations (i.e. tasks)that are automatically performed during the state control process ofFIG. 13D2, which is carried out within the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system describedin FIGS. 13 and 13A.

At Step A in FIG. 13E2A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 13E2A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslyand automatically detects the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 13E2A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), and transmits “statedata” to the global control subsystem for automatically over-driving“nearest neighboring” coplanar illumination and imaging subsystems intotheir Bar Code Reading State of operation.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 (44′) at the station arepreferably driven at full power. Optionally, in some applications, theobject motion/velocity detection subsystem may be permitted tosimultaneously collect (i.e. during the Imaging-based Bar Code ReadingState) updated object motion and velocity data, for use in dynamicallycontrolling the exposure and illumination parameters of the IFDSubsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 13E2B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detected objectwith laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and captures andbuffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed 2Dimages to the global multi-processor image processing subsystem 20 (or alocal image processing subsystem in some embodiments) for processingthese buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar code symbolrepresented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 13E2B, upon a 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the system, the image processing subsystem 20 automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem then reconfigures eachIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State (and returns to Step B) so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 13E2B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationto its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, to collect and updateobject motion and velocity data (and derive control data for exposureand/or illumination control), and then returns to Step B.

As shown in FIG. 13D3, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 13 and 13A, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 13E3A and 13E3B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each illuminationand imaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlledover-driving of all-neighboring stations. The flow chart of FIGS. 13E3Aand 13E3B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automaticallyperformed during the state control process of FIG. 13D3, which iscarried out within the omni-directional image capturing and processingbased bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 13 and 13A.

At Step A in FIG. 13G3A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 12G3A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslydetects the motion and velocity of an object being passed through the 3Dimaging volume of the station and generate data representative thereof.From this data, the local control subsystem generates control data foruse in controlling the exposure and/or illumination processes atillumination and imaging station (e.g. the frequency of the clock signalused in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 13E2A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), and transmits “statedata” to the global control subsystem for automatically over-driving“all neighboring” illumination and imaging subsystems into their BarCode Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem (44, 44′) are preferably driven atfull power. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneously collect (during theBar Code Reading State) updated object motion and sensing data fordynamically controlling the exposure and illumination parameters of theIFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 13E3B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 13E3B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the System, the image processing subsystem 20 automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem reconfigures eachIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 13E3B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationto its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 13F describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIG. 13. As shown, this hardware computing and memoryplatform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the illumination and imaging stations andother subsystems described in FIGS. 13 and 13A. As shown, the hardwareplatform comprises: at least one, but preferably multiple high speeddual core microprocessors, to provide a multi-processor architecturehaving high bandwidth video-interfaces; an FPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) formanaging the digital image streams supplied by the plurality of digitalimage capturing and buffering channels, each of which is driven by acoplanar or coextensive-area illumination and imaging station (e.g.linear CCD or CMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) inthe system; a robust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM,Flash Memory, SRAM and even a hard-drive persistence memory in someapplications; arrays of VLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping andcollimating/focusing optics; and analog and digital circuitry forrealizing the illumination subsystem; interface board withmicroprocessors and connectors; power supply and distribution circuitry;as well as circuitry for implementing the others subsystems employed inthe system.

FIG. 13G describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 13F, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIGS. 13and 13A. Details regarding the foundations of this three-tierarchitecture can be found in Applicants' copending U.S. application Ser.No. 11/408,268, incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the MainTask and Subordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the ApplicationLayer would carry out the system and subsystem functionalities describedin the State Control Processes of FIGS. 13E1A through 13E3B, and StateTransition Diagrams of FIG. 13D1 through 13D3. In an illustrativeembodiment, the Main Task would carry out the basic object motion andvelocity detection operations supported within the 3D imaging volume byeach of the illumination and imaging subsystems, and Subordinate Taskwould be called to carry out the bar code reading operations theinformation processing channels of those stations that are configured intheir Bar Code Reading State (Mode) of operation. Details of taskdevelopment will readily occur to those skilled in the art having thebenefit of the present invention disclosure.

The omni-directional image capturing and processing based bar codesymbol reading system described above generates and projects a complexof coplanar PLIB/FOVs within its 3D imaging volume, thereby providing360 degrees of imaging coverage at a POS station. The system can readladder-type and picket-fence type bar code symbols on at least fivesides of an imaged object passed through the 3D imaging volume. Withslight modification to the complex of coplanar illumination and imagingplanes generated by the horizontal housing section, the system can beadapted to read ladder-type and picket-fence type bar code symbols onsix sides of an imaged object passed through the 3D imaging volume.

The Ninth Illustrative Embodiment of the Omni-Directional ImageCapturing and Processing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading System of thePresent Invention

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a ninth illustrative embodiment of theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system 250 of the present invention, shown comprising ahorizontal housing section with a complex coplanar linear illuminationand imaging stations, and a centrally-located area-type illumination andimaging stations, for aggressively supporting both “pass-through” aswell as “presentation” modes of bar code image capture.

As shown in FIG. 14A, the omni-directional image capturing andprocessing based bar code symbol reading system 250 comprises: ahorizontal section 10′ (or vertical section if system is operated in avertical orientation) for projecting a first complex of coplanarillumination and imaging planes 55 from its horizontal imaging window17, and an area-type illumination and imaging zones 182 from itshorizontal imaging window 17 into the 3D imaging volume 16 of the systemso as to aggressively support both “pass-through” as well as“presentation” modes of bar code image capture. The primary functions ofeach coplanar laser illumination and imaging station 15 is to generateand project coplanar illumination and imaging planes through the imagingwindow and apertures into the 3D imaging volume of the system, andcapture digital linear (1D) digital images along the field of view (FOV)of these illumination and linear imaging planes. These captured linearimages are then buffered and decode-processed using linear (1D) typeimage capturing and processing based bar code reading algorithms, or canbe assembled together to reconstruct 2D images for decode-processingusing 1D/2D image processing based bar code reading techniques. Theprimary functions of the area-type illumination and imaging station 181is to generate and project area illumination through the verticalimaging window into the 3D imaging volume of the system, and capturedigital linear (2D) digital images along the field of view (FOV) ofthese area-type illumination and linear-imaging zones. These captured 2Dimages are then buffered and decode-processed using (2D) type imagecapturing and processing based bar code reading algorithms.

In FIG. 14A, the system architecture of the omni-directional imagecapturing and processing based bar code symbol reading system 250 ofFIG. 14 is shown comprising: a complex of coplanar linear and area typeilluminating and imaging stations constructed using LED or VLD basedillumination arrays and (CMOS or CCD) image sensing arrays, as describedhereinabove; an multi-channel image processing subsystem 20 forsupporting automatic image processing based bar code reading along eachillumination and imaging plane and zone within the system; asoftware-based object recognition subsystem 21, for use in cooperationwith the image processing subsystem 20, and automatically recognizingobjects (such as vegetables and fruit) at the retail POS while beingimaged by the system; an electronic weight scale 22 employing one ormore load cells 23 positioned centrally below the system housing, forrapidly measuring the weight of objects positioned on the windowaperture of the system for weighing, and generating electronic datarepresentative of measured weight of the object; an input/outputsubsystem 28 for interfacing with the image processing subsystem, theelectronic weight scale 22, RFID reader 26, credit-card reader 27 andElectronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Subsystem 28 (including EAS tagdeactivation block integrated in system housing); a wide-area wirelessinterface (WIFI) 31 including RF transceiver and antenna 31A forconnecting to the TCP/IP layer of the Internet as well as one or moreimage storing and processing RDBMS servers 33 (which can receive imageslifted by system for remote processing by the image storing andprocessing servers 33); a BlueTooth® RF 2-way communication interface 35including RF transceivers and antennas 3A for connecting to Blue-tooth®enabled hand-held scanners, imagers, PDAs, portable computers 36 and thelike, for control, management, application and diagnostic purposes; anda global control subsystem 37 for controlling (i.e. orchestrating andmanaging) the operation of the coplanar illumination and imagingstations (i.e. subsystems), electronic weight scale 22, and othersubsystems. As shown, each coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem15 transmits frames of image data to the image processing subsystem 25,for state-dependent image processing and the results of the imageprocessing operations are transmitted to the host system via theinput/output subsystem 20.

In general, each coplanar linear illumination and imaging station 15employed in the system of FIG. 14B1 can be realized as a linear array ofVLDs or LEDs and associated focusing and cylindrical beam shaping optics(i.e. planar illumination arrays PLIAs) to generate a substantiallyplanar illumination beam (PLIB) from each station, that is coplanar withthe field of view of the linear (1D) image sensing array employed in thestation. Details regarding the design and construction of planar laserillumination and imaging module (PLIIMs) can be found in Applicants'U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,899 B2 incorporated herein by reference. Also, thearea-type illumination and imaging station employed in the system ofFIG. 14B2 can be realized as an array of VLDs or LEDs and associatedfocusing and beam shaping optics to generate an wide-area illuminationbeam from the station, that is spatially-coextensive with the field ofview of the area (2D) image sensing array employed in the station.Details regarding the design and construction of planar laserillumination and imaging module (PLIIMs) can be found in Applicants'U.S. application Ser. No. 10/712,787 incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIG. 14B1, the subsystem architecture of a single coplanarlinear illumination and imaging station 15 employed in the systemembodiment of FIG. 14A is shown comprising: an illumination subsystem 44including a pair of planar illumination arrays (PLIAs) 44A and 44B forproducing a composite PLIB; a linear image formation and detection (IFD)subsystem 40 including a linear 1D image sensing array 41 having optics42 that provides a field of view (FOV) on the linear image sensing arraythat is coplanar with the PLIB produced by the linear illuminationarray; an image capturing and buffering subsystem 48 for bufferinglinear images captured by the linear image sensing array andreconstructing a 2D images therefrom in the buffer for subsequentprocessing; a high-speed object motion/velocity sensing subsystem 49 asdescribed above, for collecting object motion and velocity data for usein the real-time controlling of exposure and/or illumination relatedparameters (e.g. frequency of the clock signal used to read out framesof image data captured by the linear image sensing array in the IFDsubsystem); and local control subsystem 50 for controlling operationswith the coplanar illumination and imaging subsystem 15, and responsiveto control signals generated by the global control subsystem 37.

Also, as shown in FIG. 14B2, each area-type illumination and imagingstation 181 employed in the system of FIG. 14A can be realized as: anarea-type image formation and detection (IFD) subsystem 40′ including anarea 2D image sensing array 41′ having optics 42′ that provides a fieldof view (FOV) on the area image sensing array 41′; an illuminationsubsystem 44′ including a pair of spaced apart linear arrays of LEDs44A′ and associated focusing optics for producing a substantiallyuniform area of illumination that is coextensive with the FOV of thearea-type image sensing array 41′; an image capturing and bufferingsubsystem 48 for buffering 2D images captured by the area image sensingarray for subsequent processing; a high-speed object motion/velocitysensing subsystem 49, as described above, for collecting object motionand velocity data for use in the real-time controlling of controlexposure and/or illumination related parameters (e.g. frequency of theclock signal used to read out frames of image data captured by thelinear image sensing array in the IFD subsystem); and local controlsubsystem 50 for controlling operations with the illumination andimaging subsystem 181, and responsive to control signals generated bythe global control subsystem 37.

As shown in FIGS. 14C1, the high-speed object motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 is arranged for use with the linear-type image formationand detection subsystem 40 in the linear-type image illumination andimaging station 15, and can be realized using any of the techniquesdescribed hereinabove, so as to generate, in real-time, motion andvelocity data for supply to the local control subsystem 50 forprocessing and automatic generation of control data that is used tocontrol the illumination and exposure parameters of the linear imagesensing array 41 employed in the linear image formation and detectionsystem within the station. Alternatively, motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 can be deployed outside of illumination and imagingstation, and positioned globally as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIGS. 14C2, the high-speed object motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 is arranged for use with the area-type image formation anddetection subsystem 40′ in the area-type image illumination and imagingstation 181, and can be realized using any of the techniques describedhereinabove, so as to generate, in real-time, motion and velocity datafor supply to the local control subsystem 50. In turn, the local controlsubsystem processes and generates control data for controlling theillumination and exposure parameters of the area image sensing array 41′employed in the area-type image formation and detection system 40′within the station 15. Alternatively, motion/velocity detectionsubsystem 49 can be deployed outside of illumination and imagingstation, and positioned globally as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

As shown in FIG. 14D1, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIG. 14A, running the system control programdescribed in flow charts of FIGS. 14E1A and 14E1B, withlocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection provided in eachillumination and imaging subsystem of the system, as illustrated in FIG.14A. The flow chart of FIGS. 14E1A and 14E1B describes the operations(i.e. tasks) that are automatically performed during the state controlprocess of FIG. 14D1, which is carried out within the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIGS. 14 and 14A.

At Step A in FIG. 14E1A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 14E1A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslyand automatically detects the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generates datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 14E1A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State).

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneously collect (during theImaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) object motion and velocity datafor use in the real-time controlling of exposure and illuminationparameters of the IFD Subsystem 40′.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 14E1B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 14E1B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the System, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem (for transmission to the host computer), and the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures each Illumination and Imaging Stationback into its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State and returns to StepB, so that the system can resume detection of object motion and velocitywithin the 3D imaging volume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 14E1B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the localcontrol subsystem 50 reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationto its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control).

As shown in FIG. 14D2, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 14 and 14A, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 14E1A and 14E1B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each illuminationand imaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlledover-driving of nearest-neighboring stations (into their Bar CodeReading State of operation). The flow chart of FIGS. 14E2A and I4E2Bdescribes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automatically performedduring the state control process of FIG. 14D2, which is carried outwithin the omni-directional image capturing and processing based barcode symbol reading system described in FIGS. 14 and 14A.

At Step A in FIG. 14E2A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 14E2A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslyand automatically detects the motion and velocity of an object beingpassed through the 3D imaging volume of the station and generate datarepresentative thereof. From this data, the local control subsystemgenerates control data for use in controlling the exposure and/orillumination processes at coplanar illumination and imaging station(e.g. the frequency of the clock signal used in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 14E2A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), and transmits “statedata” to the global control subsystem for automatically over-driving“nearest neighboring” coplanar illumination and imaging subsystems intotheir Bar Code Reading State of operation.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 at the station are preferablydriven at full power. Optionally, in some applications, the objectmotion/velocity detection subsystem may be permitted to simultaneouslycollect (during the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode) object motionand velocity data for use in the real-time controlling exposure andillumination parameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 14E2B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detected objectwith laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), and captures andbuffers digital 1D images thereof, and then transmits reconstructed 2Dimages to the global image processing subsystem 20 (or a local imageprocessing subsystem in some embodiments) for processing these bufferedimages so as to read a 1D or 2D bar code symbol represented in theimages.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 14E2B, upon a 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the system, the image processing subsystem 20 automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem 37 then reconfigures eachIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State (and returns to Step B) so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 14E2B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationto its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State, to collect and updateobject motion and velocity data (and derive control data for exposureand/or illumination control), and then returns to Step B.

As shown in FIG. 14D3, a state transition diagram is provided for theomni-directional image capturing and processing based bar code symbolreading system described in FIGS. 14 and 14A, running the system controlprogram described in flow charts of FIGS. 14E3A and 14E3B, employinglocally-controlled object motion/velocity detection in each illuminationand imaging subsystem of the system, with globally-controlledover-driving of all-neighboring stations. The flow chart of FIGS. 14E3Aand 14E3B describes the operations (i.e. tasks) that are automaticallyperformed during the state control process of FIG. 14D3, which iscarried out within the omni-directional image capturing and processingbased bar code symbol reading system described in FIGS. 14 and 14A.

At Step A in FIG. 14E3A, upon powering up the Omni-Directional Imagecapturing and processing based Bar Code Symbol Reading System(“System”), and/or after each successful read of a bar code symbolthereby, the global control subsystem 37 initializes the system bypre-configuring each Illumination and Imaging Station employed thereinin its Object Motion/Velocity Detection State.

As indicated at Step B in FIG. 14E3A, at each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Object Motion/Velocity DetectionState, the object motion/velocity detection subsystem 49 continuouslydetects the motion and velocity of an object being passed through the 3Dimaging volume of the station and generate data representative thereof.From this data, the local control subsystem generates control data foruse in controlling the exposure and/or illumination processes atillumination and imaging station (e.g. the frequency of the clock signalused in the IFD subsystem).

As indicated at Step C in FIG. 14E3A, for each Illumination and ImagingStation that automatically detects an object moving through or withinits Object Motion/Velocity Detection Field, its local control subsystem50 automatically configures the Illumination and Imaging Station intoits Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), and transmits “statedata” to the global control subsystem for automatically over-driving“all neighboring” illumination and imaging subsystems into their BarCode Reading State.

During the Imaging-Based Bar Code Reading Mode (State), the illuminationarrays of the illumination subsystem 44 are preferably driven at fullpower. Optionally, in some applications, the object motion/velocitysensing subsystem may be permitted to simultaneously collect (during theImaging-Based Bar Code Reading State) object motion and velocity datafor use in the real-time controlling of exposure and illuminationparameters of the IFD Subsystem.

As indicated at Step D in FIG. 14E3B, from each Illumination and ImagingStation currently configured in its Imaging-Based Bar Code SymbolReading State, the station automatically illuminates the detectedobject, with laser or VLD illumination (as the case may be), andcaptures and buffers digital 1D images thereof, and transmits thesereconstructed 2D images to the global image processing subsystem 20 forprocessing these buffered images so as to read a 1D or 2D bar codesymbol represented in the images.

As indicated at Step E of FIG. 14E3B, upon the 1D or 2D bar code symbolbeing successfully read by at least one of the Illumination and ImagingStations in the System, the image processing subsystem automaticallygenerates symbol character data representative of the read bar codesymbol, transmits the symbol character data to the input/outputsubsystem, and the global control subsystem 37 reconfigures eachIllumination and Imaging Station back into its Object Motion/VelocityDetection State and returns to Step B, so that the system can resumeautomatic detection of object motion and velocity within the 3D imagingvolume of the system.

As indicated at Step F in FIG. 14E3B, upon failure to read at least 1Dor 2D bar code symbol within a predetermined time period (from the timean object has been detected within the 3D imaging volume), the globalcontrol subsystem 37 reconfigures the illumination and imaging stationto its Object Motion and Velocity Detection State at Step B, to collectand update object motion and velocity data (and derive control data forexposure and/or illumination control).

FIG. 14F describes an exemplary embodiment of a computing and memoryarchitecture platform that can be used to implement the omni-directionalimage capturing and processing based bar code symbol reading systemdescribed in FIG. 14. As shown, this hardware computing and memoryplatform can be realized on a single PC board, along with theelectro-optics associated with the illumination and imaging stations andother subsystems described in FIGS. 14 and 14A. As shown, the hardwareplatform comprises: at least one, but preferably multiple high speeddual core microprocessors, to provide a multi-processor architecturehaving high bandwidth video-interfaces; an FPGA (e.g. Spartan 3) formanaging the digital image streams supplied by the plurality of digitalimage capturing and buffering channels, each of which is driven by acoplanar or coextensive-area illumination and imaging station (e.g.linear CCD or CMOS image sensing array, image formation optics, etc) inthe system; a robust multi-tier memory architecture including DRAM,Flash Memory, SRAM and even a hard-drive persistence memory in someapplications; arrays of VLDs and/or LEDs, associated beam shaping andcollimating/focusing optics; and analog and digital circuitry forrealizing the illumination subsystem; interface board withmicroprocessors and connectors; power supply and distribution circuitry;as well as circuitry for implementing the others subsystems employed inthe system.

FIG. 14G describes a three-tier software architecture that can run uponthe computing and memory architecture platform of FIG. 14F, so as toimplement the functionalities of the omni-directional image capturingand processing based bar code symbol reading system described FIG. 14.Details regarding the foundations of this three-tier architecture can befound in Applicants' copending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/408,268,incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the Main Task andSubordinate Task(s) that would be developed for the Application Layerwould carry out the system and subsystem functionalities described inthe State Control Processes of FIG. 14E1A through 14E3B, and StateTransition Diagrams of FIGS. 14D1 through 14D3. In an illustrativeembodiment, the Main Task would carry out the basic object motion andvelocity detection operations supported within the 3D imaging volume byeach of the illumination and imaging subsystems, and Subordinate Taskwould be called to carry out the bar code reading operations theinformation processing channels of those stations that are configured intheir Bar Code Reading State (Mode) of operation. Details of taskdevelopment will readily occur to those skilled in the art having thebenefit of the present invention disclosure.

Capturing Digital Images of Objects within the 3D Imaging Volume, andTransmitting Same Directly to Remote Image Processing Servers forProcessing

In the illustrative embodiments described above, the global imageprocessing subsystem 20 (or locally provided image processing subsystem)serves to process captured images for the purpose of reading bar codesymbols on imaged objects, supporting OCR, and other image capturing andprocessing based services. It is understood, however, that in someapplications, the system of the present invention described above canserve primarily to (i) capture digital images of objects in anomni-directional manner, (ii) transmit captured (or lifted) images to aremote Image Processing RDMS Server 33, via the high-speed broad-bandwireless interface 31, described in detail above, and (iii) receive anysymbol character data that has been produced by the server 33 duringremote image processing, for subsequent transmission to the hostcomputer system for display. With this approach, the captured images ofscanned products can be archived on the RDBMS server 33 for subsequentprocessing and analysis of operator scanning techniques, with the aim todetermine inefficiencies that may be corrected with a view towardsoptimization at the POS.

In the arrangement described above, the Image Processing RDBMS Server 33can host all of the bar code reading and OCR software algorithms onsubsystem 20, as well as computer software for implementing the objectrecognition subsystem 21. The advantages of this alternativearchitecture is that a network of omni-directional image capturingsystems of the present invention (deployed at different POS stations ina retail environment) can be supported by a single centralized (remote)image-processing server 33, supporting all image processing requirementsof the POS systems, thereby reducing redundancy and cost. Also, thenetwork of POS imagers can be readily interfaced with the retailer's LANor WAN, and each such system can be provided with the Internet-basedremote monitoring, configuration and service (RMCS) capabilities, taughtin U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,106, incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. This will provide the retailer with the capacity ofmonitoring, configuring and servicing its network of omni-directionalimage capturing and processing systems, regardless of size and/or extentof its business enterprise.

Applications and Retail Services Enabled by the Image Capturing andProcessing Based Bar Code Symbol Reading of the Present Invention

The image processing based bar code reading system of the presentinvention can be used in many applications, other than purely thereading of bar code symbols to identify consumer products at thecheckout counter. Several examples are given below.

Process for Returning Product Merchandise in Retail Store Environments

One such application would be in practicing an improvement procedure forreturning purchased goods at the host computer system of a retail POSstation that has been equipped with the image capturing and processingbar code reading system of the present invention, described in greatdetail above. The novel product return procedure would involve: (1)entering the ID of the consumer returning the purchased goods (whichcould involve reading the PDF symbol on the consumer's drivers license);and the ID of the employee to whom the goods are being returned (whichcould involve reading a bar code symbol on the employee's identificationcard); (2) capturing digital images of returned products using thedigital imaging/bar code symbol reading system of the present invention(using the system of the present invention, or a hand-held imager 36interfaced with the system of the present invention via interfaces 31and/or 35); (3) generating, at the host system, a .pdf or like document,containing the customer's and employee's identification along with thedigital images of the returned product or merchandise; and (4) andtransmitting (from the host system) the .pdf or like document to adesignated database (e.g. on the Internet) where the informationcontained in the document can be processed and entered into theretailer's ERP or inventory system. The product return method of thepresent invention should help prevent or reduce employee theft, as wellas provide greater accountability for returned merchandise in retailstore environments. Also, credit cards can be provided with 2D bar codesymbols (PDF417) encoded with the card carrier identificationinformation, and the system of the present invention can be used to readsuch bar code symbols with simplicity.

Identifying Product Merchandise when Product Tags are Absent

Another application would be to use the omni-directional image capturingand processing system of the present invention to capture a plurality ofdigital images for each consumer product sold in the retailer's store,and stored these digital images in the remote RDBMS Server 33, alongwith product identifying information such as the UPC/EAN number, itstrademark or trademark, the product descriptor for the consumer product,etc. Once such a RDBMS Server 33 has been programmed with such consumerproduct image and product identifying information, then the system isready to provide a new level of retail service at the POS station. Forexample, when a consumer checks out a product at the POS station, thatis by imaging the bar code label on its packing using the system of thepresent invention, and the imaged bar code happens to be unreadable, orif the label happens to have fallen off, or been taken off, then thesystem can automatically identify the product using the multiple digitalimages stored in the RDBMS server 33 and some automated imagerecognition processes supported on the RDBMS server 33. Such automatedproduct recognition with involve computer-assisted comparison of (i)multiple digital images for a given product, that have captured by thesystem of the present invention during a single pass operation, and (ii)with the digital images that have been stored in the RDBMS server 33during programming and setup operations. Such automated product imagerecognition can be carried out using image processing algorithms thatare generally known in the art. Once the product has been recognized,the system can serve up corresponding product and price information toenable the consumer product purchase transaction at the POS station.

Modifications that Come to Mind

In the illustrative embodiments described above, the multi-channel imageprocessing subsystem has been provided as a centralized processingsystem servicing the image processing needs of each illumination andimaging station in the system. It is understood, however, that inalternative embodiments, each station can be provided with its own localimage processing subsystem for servicing its local image processingneeds.

Also, while image-based, LIDAR-based, and SONAR-based motion andvelocity detection techniques have been disclosed for use inimplementing the object motion/velocity detection subsystem of eachillumination and imaging station of the present invention, it isunderstood that alternative methods of measurement can be used toimplement such functions within the system.

While the digital imaging systems of the illustrative embodimentspossess inherent capabilities for intelligently controlling theillumination and imaging of objects as they are moved through the 3Dimaging volume of the system, by virtue of the state management andcontrol processes of the present invention disclosed herein, it isunderstood that alternative system control techniques may be used tointelligently minimize illumination of customers at the point of sale(POS).

One such alternative control method may be carried out by the systemperforming the following steps:. (1) using only ambient illumination,capturing low-quality 1D images of an object to be illuminated/imaged,from the multiple FOVs of the complex linear imaging system, andanalyzing these linear images so as to compute the initial x,y,zposition coordinates of the object prior to illumination and imaging;(2) computing the projected x,y,z path or trajectory {x,yz,t) of objectthrough the 3D imaging volume of system; (3) determining which FOVs (orFOV segments) intersect with the computed x,y,z path trajectory of theobject, passing through the 3D imaging volume; and (4) selectivelyilluminate only the FOVs (i.e. FOV segments) determined in Step 3, asthe object is moved along its path through said FOVs, therebyilluminating and imaging the object only along FOVs through which theobject passes, and at a time when the object passes through such FOVs,thereby maximizing that projected illumination falls incident on thesurface of the object, and thus minimizing the illumination of customersat the POS. Notably, the above method of system control would involvesimultaneously illuminating/imaging an object only when the object isvirtually intersecting a coplanar illumination and imaging plane of thesystem, thereby ensuring that illumination is directed primarily on thesurface of the object only when it needs to do work, and therebyminimizing the projection of intense visible illumination at timeslikely to intersect consumers at the POS. This technique can bepracticed by capturing (low-quality) linear images using only ambientillumination, and processing these images to compute real-time objectposition and trajectory, which information can be used to intelligentlycontrol VLD and/or LED sources of illumination to maximize thatprojected illumination falls incident on the surface of the object, andthus minimize the illumination of customers at the POS.

Several modifications to the illustrative embodiments have beendescribed above. It is understood, however, that various othermodifications to the illustrative embodiment of the present inventionwill readily occur to persons with ordinary skill in the art. All suchmodifications and variations are deemed to be within the scope andspirit of the present invention as defined by the accompanying Claims toInvention.

1. A method of returning a consumer products purchased in a retailenvironment and preventing or reducing employee theft of returnedconsumer products, said method comprising the steps of: (1) installing adigital image capturing and processing system at a point of sale (POS)station in said retail environment, including a housing having animaging window and generating and projecting a field of view throughsaid imaging window, and into a 3D imaging volume definable relative tosaid imaging window, for producing digital images of each said consumerproduct within said 3D imaging volume, and capable of processing saiddigital images and reading code symbols applied to each said consumerproduct; and (2) providing a host system, in communication with saiddigital image capturing and processing system; (3) identifying saidconsumer products to be purchased by moving each said consumer productthrough said 3D imaging volume to read a code symbol on said consumerproduct, produce symbol character data for each read code symbol on eachsaid consumer product, and transmit said symbol character data to saidhost system and identify said purchased consumer product; (4) enteringinto the host system, identification (ID) data for the consumerreturning the purchased consumer products and also identification (ID)data for the employee to whom the purchased consumer products are beingreturned to said retail environment; (5) identifying each said purchasedconsumer product to be returned to said retail environment by using saiddigital image capturing and processing system to capture one or moredigital images of each said purchased consumer product being returned tosaid retail environment, and producing said one or more captured digitalimages of each said returned consumer product to said retailenvironment; (6) generating at said host system, an electronic documentcontaining information including the customer's ID data and theemployee's ID data along with said one or more digital images of eachreturned consumer product; and (7) transmitting said electronic documentfrom said host system to a database server associated with said retailstore environment, for storage and subsequent processing to prevent orreduce employee theft of returned consumer products in said retailenvironment.
 2. A method of returning consumer products in a retailenvironment and preventing or reducing employee theft of returnedconsumer products, said method comprising the steps of: (1) providing adigital image capturing and processing system available at said retailenvironment, including a housing having an imaging window and generatingand projecting a field of view through said imaging window, and into a3D imaging volume definable relative to said imaging window, forproducing digital images of said consumer products within said 3Dimaging volume; and (2) providing a host system, in communication withsaid digital image capturing and processing system; (3) entering intosaid host system, identification (ID) data for the consumer returningpurchased consumer products and also identification (ID) data for theemployee to whom the purchased consumer products are being returned; (4)using said digital image capturing and processing system to capture oneor more digital images of returned consumer products, and providing saidone or more captured digital images thereof to said host system; (5)generating at said host system, an electronic document containinginformation including the customer's ID data and the employee's ID data,along with said one or more digital images of the returned consumerproducts; and (6) and transmitting said electronic document from saidhost system to a database server associated with said retail storeenvironment, for storage and subsequent processing; wherein said digitalimage capturing and processing system comprises an omni-directionalimage capture and processing system including a plurality of coplanarillumination and imaging stations, for generating and projecting acomplex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes through said imagingwindow, and into said 3D imaging volume definable relative to saidimaging window, for supporting imaging of consumer products passingthrough said 3D imaging volume, by producing digital images of consumerproducts within said 3D imaging volume.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein said database server is associated with an enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) or inventory system of the retailer maintaining saidretail store environment.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step ofentering said ID data for the consumer returning the purchased consumerproducts, comprises reading a bar code symbol on the consumer's driverslicense.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said bar code symbol is a PDFtype bar code symbol encoding said ID data for said consumer.
 6. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the step of entering said ID data for theemployee to whom said purchased consumer products are being returnedcomprises reading a bar code symbol on the employee's identificationcard.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said bar code symbol is a PDFtype bar code symbol encoding said ID data for said employee.
 8. Themethod of claim 3, wherein said electronic document is formatted inportable document format (pdf).
 9. A system for returning consumerproducts in a retail environment and preventing or reducing employeetheft of returned consumer products in said retail environment, saidsystem comprising: a digital image capturing and processing systeminstalled at a point of sale (POS) station in said retail environment,including a housing having an imaging window and generating andprojecting a field of view through said imaging window, and into a 3Dimaging volume definable relative to said imaging window, for producingdigital images of said consumer products within said 3D imaging volume;and a host system, in communication with said digital image capturingand processing system; wherein said digital image capturing andprocessing system is used to identify consumer products to be purchasedby capturing and processing one or more digital images of each saidconsumer product so as to read a code symbol on each said consumerproduct being purchased; wherein an identification (ID) data for theconsumer returning the purchased consumer products is entered into saidhost system, and also identification (ID) data for the employee to whomthe consumer products are being returned is entered into said hostsystem; wherein said digital image capturing and processing system isalso used identify each purchased consumer product to be returned tosaid retail environment by capturing one or more digital images of thereturned consumer product, and providing said one or more captureddigital images to said host system, and said host system generating anelectronic document containing information including the customer's IDdata and the employee's ID data, along with said one or more digitalimages of each returned consumer product; and wherein said electronicdocument is transmitted from said host system to a database serverassociated with said retail store environment, for storage andsubsequent processing to prevent or reduce employee theft of returnedconsumer products in said retail environment.
 10. A system for returningconsumer products in a retail environment and preventing or reducingemployee theft of returned consumer products in said retail environment,said system comprising: a digital image capturing and processing systemavailable at said retail environment, and including a housing having animaging window and generating and projecting a field of view throughsaid imaging window, and into a 3D imaging volume definable relative tosaid imaging window, for producing digital images of consumer productswithin said 3D imaging volume; and a host system, in communication withsaid digital image capturing and processing system; wherein anidentification (ID) data for the consumer returning the purchasedconsumer products is entered into said host system, and alsoidentification (ID) data of the employee to whom the purchased consumerproducts are being returned is entered into said host system; whereinsaid digital image capturing and processing system is used to captureone or more digital images of returned consumer products, and producesaid one or more captured digital images thereof to said host system,and said host system generates an electronic document containinginformation including the customer's ID data and the employee's ID data,along with said one or more digital images of each returned consumerproduct; and wherein said electronic document is transmitted from saidhost system to a database server associated with said retail storeenvironment, for storage and subsequent processing; wherein said digitalimage capturing and processing system comprises an omni-directionalimage capture and processing system including a plurality of coplanarillumination and imaging stations, for generating and projecting acomplex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes through said imagingwindow, and into said 3D imaging volume definable relative to saidimaging window, for supporting imaging of consumer products passingthrough said 3D imaging volume, by producing digital images of consumerproducts within said 3D imaging volume.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein said database server is associated with an enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) or inventory system of the retailer maintaining saidretail store environment.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein enteringsaid ID data for the consumer returning the purchased consumer productscomprises reading a bar code symbol on the consumer's drivers license.13. The system of claim 12, wherein said bar code symbol is a PDF typebar code symbol encoding said ID data for said consumer.
 14. The systemof claim 10, wherein the step of entering said ID data for the employeeto whom the purchased consumer products are being returned comprisesreading a bar code symbol on the employee's identification card.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein said bar code symbol is a PDF type bar codesymbol encoding said ID data for said employee.
 16. The system of claim10, wherein said electronic document is formatted in portable documentformat (pdf).
 17. A method of providing greater accountability forreturned consumer products in a retail environment, said methodcomprising the steps of: (1) providing a digital image capturing andprocessing system available at said retail environment, including ahousing having an imaging window and generating and projecting a fieldof view through said imaging window, and into a 3D imaging volumedefinable relative to said imaging window, for producing digital imagesof consumer products within said 3D imaging volume; and (2) providing ahost system, in communication with said digital image capturing andprocessing system; (3) identifying each said consumer product to bepurchased by moving said consumer product through said 3D imaging volumeto read one or more code symbols on said consumer product, producesymbol character data for each read code symbol on each said consumerproduct, and transmit said symbol character data to said host system andidentify said purchased consumer product; (3) entering into the hostsystem, identification (ID) data for the consumer returning thepurchased consumer products and also an ID for the employee to whom thepurchased consumer products are being returned; (4) using said digitalimage capturing and processing system to identify purchased consumerproducts being returned to said retail environment by capturing one ormore digital images of each returned consumer product, and producingsaid one or more captured digital images thereof to said host system;(5) generating at said host system, an electronic document containingsaid ID data for the customer and the employee, along with said one ormore digital images of each returned consumer product; and (6)transmitting said electronic document from said host system to adatabase server associated with said retail environment, for storage andsubsequent processing to prevent or reduce employee theft of returnedconsumer products in said retail environment.
 18. A method of providinggreater accountability for returned consumer products in a retailenvironment, said method comprising the steps of: (1) providing adigital image capturing and processing system available at said retailenvironment, including a housing having an imaging window and generatingand projecting a field of view through said imaging window, and into a3D imaging volume definable relative to said imaging window, forproducing digital images of purchased consumer products within said 3Dimaging volume; and (2) providing a host system, in communication withsaid digital image capturing and processing system; (3) entering intothe host system, identification (ID) data for the consumer returning thepurchased consumer products and also an ID of the employee to whom thepurchased consumer products are being returned; (4) using said digitalimage capturing and processing system to capture one or more digitalimages of each returned consumer product, and producing said one or morecaptured digital images to said host system; (5) generating at said hostsystem, an electronic document containing said ID data for the customerand the employee, along with said one or more digital images of eachreturned consumer product; and (6) and transmitting said electronicdocument from said host system to a database server associated with saidretail store environment, for storage and subsequent processing; whereinsaid image capturing and processing system comprises an omni-directionalimage capture and processing system including a plurality of coplanarillumination and imaging stations, for generating and projecting acomplex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes through said imagingwindow, and into said 3D imaging volume definable relative to saidimaging window, for supporting imaging of purchased consumer productspassing through said 3D imaging volume, and producing digital images ofpurchased consumer products within said 3D imaging volume.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein said database server is associated with anenterprise resource planning (ERP) or inventory system of the retailermaintaining said retail store environment.
 20. The method of claim 18,wherein the step of entering said ID data for the consumer returning thepurchased consumer products comprises reading a bar code symbol on theconsumer's drivers license.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein said barcode symbol is a PDF type bar code symbol encoding said ID data for saidconsumer.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of entering saidID data for the employee to whom the purchased consumer products arebeing returned comprises reading a bar code symbol on the employee'sidentification card.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein said bar codesymbol is a PDF type bar code symbol encoding said ID data for saidemployee.
 24. The method of claim 18, wherein said electronic documentis formatted in portable document format (pdf).
 25. A system forproviding greater accountability for returned consumer products in aretail environment, said system comprising: a digital image capturingand processing system installed at said retail environment, including ahousing having an imaging window and generating and projecting a fieldof view through said imaging window, and into a 3D imaging volumedefinable relative to said imaging window, for producing digital imagesof consumer products within said 3D imaging volume; and a host system,in communication with said digital image capturing and processingsystem; wherein said digital image capturing and processing system isused to identify consumer products to be purchased by capturing andprocessing one or more digital images of said consumer products so as toread a code symbol on each said consumer product during purchasing;wherein identification (ID) data for the consumer returning thepurchased consumer products is entered into said host system, and alsoidentification (ID) data for the employee to whom the consumer productsare being returned is entered into said host system; wherein saiddigital image capturing and processing system is also used to identifypurchased consumer products being returned to said retail environment bycapturing one or more digital images of each returned consumer productmoved through said 3D imaging volume, and providing said one or morecaptured digital images thereof to said host system, and said hostsystem generating an electronic document containing informationincluding said ID data for the customer and the employee, along withsaid one or more digital images of the returned consumer products; andwherein said electronic document is transmitted from said host system toa database server associated with said retail environment, for storageand subsequent processing to prevent or reduce employee theft ofreturned consumer products in said retail environment.
 26. A system forproviding greater accountability for returned consumer products inretail store environments, said system comprising: a digital imagecapturing and processing system installed at said retail environment,including a housing having an imaging window and generating andprojecting a field of view through said imaging window, and into a 3Dimaging volume definable relative to said imaging window, for producingdigital images of consumer products within said 3D imaging volume; and ahost system, in communication with said digital image capturing andprocessing system; wherein identification (ID) data for the consumerreturning the purchased consumer products is entered into said hostsystem, and also identification (ID) data for the employee to whom thepurchased consumer products are being returned is entered into said hostsystem; wherein said digital image capturing and processing system isused to capture one or more digital images of each returned consumerproduct, and produce said one or more captured digital images to saidhost system, and said host system generates an electronic documentcontaining information including said ID data for the customer and theemployee, along with said one or more digital images of the returnedconsumer products; and wherein said electronic document is transmittedfrom said host system to a database server associated with said retailstore environment, for storage and subsequent processing; wherein saidimage capturing and processing system comprises an omni-directionalimage capture and processing system including a plurality of coplanarillumination and imaging stations, for generating and projecting acomplex of coplanar illumination and imaging planes through said imagingwindow, and into said 3D imaging volume definable relative to saidimaging window, for supporting imaging of consumer products passingthrough said 3D imaging volume, and producing digital images of consumerproducts within said 3D imaging volume.
 27. The system of claim 26,wherein said database server is associated with an enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) or inventory system of the retailer maintaining saidretail store environment.
 28. The system of claim 26, wherein enteringsaid ID data for the consumer returning the purchased consumer productscomprises reading a bar code symbol on the consumer's drivers license.29. The system of claim 28, wherein said bar code symbol is a PDF typebar code symbol encoding said ID data for said consumer.
 30. The systemof claim 28, wherein entering said ID data for the employee to whom theconsumer products are being returned comprises reading a bar code symbolon the employee's identification card.
 31. The system of claim 30,wherein said bar code symbol is a PDF type bar code symbol encoding saidID data for said employee.
 32. The system of claim 30, wherein saidelectronic document is formatted in portable document format (pdf).